Joseph Albert Nordstrom

NORDSTROM, Joseph Albert 91, died peacefully at his home on May 3, 2009, in Houston, Texas, with family at his side. Memorial services will be held on Friday, May 8, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. at the Community of the Servant-Savior on 11303 Hughes Road in Houston, Texas. There will be a celebration of his life in New England at a later date. Joe was born January 31, 1918, in East Orange, New Jersey to Evert and Frieda Nordstrom. Married to Barbro Berg in 1953, their three children are Wendy, Carl and Joe. He is survived by all three children, and his brother Carl. He was a loving son, brother, husband, and father, and we will miss him. Joe was an Executive Officer on a floating dry dock in the Pacific with the Navy in WW2, and retired a Lt. Commander. He was a university business administration professor all of his life, teaching business administration in at 8 universities in the USA and Brazil, during 7 different decades. His efforts contributed to establishing Business Administration as a university discipline in Brazil. He was involved in using computers for business from the beginning, and created some of the earliest computer business simulations and modeling for his classes, starting in the early 1960s. Joe donated much time and money to a large number of charitable organizations and other causes he believed in. He and Barbro sponsored refugee families from Hungary and Vietnam in the 1950's and 1970's, taking them in for extended periods and helping them to become established as Americans. He marched for civil rights in the 1960's, and made two trips to Brazil with Habitat while in his 80's to help with building houses, as well as traveling frequently to visit family and friends. He also sponsored the education of a number of people in Brazil. Joe's greatest lasting legacy is the moral and ethical standards that he instilled in his family, friends and students. Our thanks to Light Heart Memory Care home, and to his many relatives and friends who stayed in touch over the years. Memorials may be made to Habitat for Humanity at www.habitat.org, in Joe's name. You may view the obituary online at www.crowderfuneralhome.com