Joseph Albert Meiswinkel

Joseph Albert Meiswinkel

1940-2014

Beloved Joseph passed away on November 28th, surrounded by family and friends after a 2 year battle with bladder cancer at the age of 73. He was born on December 14th, 1940 to Barbara and Frederick Meiswinkel in San Francisco. He attended St. Boniface, Bellarmine and St. Ignatius. Following high school, he went directly into his father's family business becoming a master plaster mechanic at Frederick Meiswinkel Incorporated, that was run by his now deceased eldest brother Rudolph Meiswinkel after his father passed away when he was 16.
In 1983 he started RFJ Meiswinkel Company, along with his now deceased brother Frederick, which specializes in lath, plaster, drywall, exterior insulation finishing systems and spray fireproofing. His own hard work resulted in many scores of dedicated honorable employees over 40 years. RFJ Meiswinkel Company completed many landmark projects such as the rehabilitation of ACT Theater, the Flood Building, the San Francisco Center Rotunda, Bloomingdales and currently the SF MOMA expansion among many others.
He adopted his father's love of fishing early on, evidenced by his purchase of a boat before ever owning a car. His deep passion for the outdoors (via both fly fishing and big game sport fishing) brought him to many worldwide destinations such as Micronesia, Patagonia, Kamchatka and Cuba among many others. In the early 1980's he purchased land in Puerto San Carlos, Mexico where over many years with close friends created what could only be described as a private sport fishing lodge. Here he enjoyed sharing this passion with anyone willing to take the journey to the shores of Magdalena Bay.
Joseph's hobby of gardening gave him much pleasure in creating bouquets of tulips, roses among other flowers and giving them away to friends and family. Also, his generosity extended to many charitable organizations. At Christmas he would personally shop for and wrap thousands of gifts, sending loaded flatbed trucks to Laguna Honda Hospital.
Joseph is survived by his wife Carolyn Meiswinkel, children, Kurt and (Julia), Kristen, Robert and (Ana) Meiswinkel and beloved grandchildren Nicolai, Nicole and Daniel. Also survived by his sisters Rosa Schiessl and Margaret Hansen and in-laws, nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his sister Cecilia Plough as well as by his brothers Frederick and Rudolph.
The services will be held at Our Lady of Angels in Burlingame. Visitation will be held at 6:00pm; followed by the vigil on Thursday, Dec 4th at 7pm and the funeral mass will be celebrated Friday, Dec 5th at 11am. In Lieu of Flowers, donations will be appreciated at the Golden Gate Salmon Association, American Cancer Society, and Mission Hospice.