Joseph Pickard

Joseph Pickard
April 25, 1917 - November 20, 2016
Joseph Simmons Pickard passed away November 20, 2016, at the Larchwoods Inn in Grand Junction, CO. He died peacefully in his sleep of natural causes. A memorial service will be held at the First Presbyterian Church in Grand Junction on December 3, 2016, 11:00 a.m.
Joe Pickard was born to Joseph, Sr. and Lucille Pickard in Dallas, TX on April 25, 1917. He graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in Dallas. He married Betty Jo Fair on February 16, 1940, in Dallas, and they shared a wonderful life and marriage for 73 years until she passed at age 93 in 2013, Grand Junction.
Joe had a very successful 37-year career in sales with Revere Copper and Brass, Inc., that moved him around the country from Dallas to Houston, Chicago, and Rome, NY. When he retired at age 65, he was the National Sales Manager for Revere, responsible for sales management of the nine-state Midwest Region.
Joe used his passion for golf as a way to build relationships with clients and in so doing, he developed into a very accomplished "scratch" golfer. In his golf life which lasted until age 98, he recorded four hole-in-ones; shot his age at 73 and then every year thereafter until he turned 97; and also at age 97, he won a gold medal in golf at the 2014 Huntsman World Senior Games in St. George, UT.
As any family member or friend would tell you, Joe was good at anything he set his mind to: golf, tennis, ping pong, billiards, croquet, fly fishing, sailing, cribbage, woodworking, repairs, poetry, and more. As gentle and friendly and kind a man as he was, when he got in the game he was a competitor and more often than not he beat you!
But Joe's truest love was his wife, Betty, and their family. Together they loved and served their church and community wherever they lived and actively participated and volunteered wherever help was needed. They both enjoyed good health and stayed active at bridge, golf, tennis, hiking, and cross-country skiing. They traveled extensively and attended 21 Elderhostels. For several years Joe volunteered as the Assistant State Coordinator for AARP's "55 Alive" senior driver training program.
Joe is survived by his daughters, Carolyn Brown of Grand Junction, and Kay Hourigan of Denver; sons, Laurens Pickard of Houston, TX, and Scott Pickard of Champaign, IL; nine grandchildren, and ten great-grandchildren.
Memorial contributions may be made to First Presbyterian Church in Grand Junction.