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Joseph Macrum Obituary

1938 - 2023

MACRUM - Joseph of Los Angeles, CA died on Monday, July 17 at the age of 85 from prostate cancer and Parkinson's disease. Joe was a charming storyteller who loved to regale family and friends with tales from his wild and interesting life. As the son of U.S. Navy Commander Edward Joseph Mulquin and Jane Faulkner Mulquin, Joe's childhood was spent on Navy bases in the U.S. Hawaii and Guam. Following the death of his father in 1950, his mother married U.S. Air Force General Robert S. Macrum, and life took Joe around the world on Air Force bases.

A natural athlete, Joe played high school and college football and ice hockey; put himself through American University on a scholarship as an NCAA diver; and was a certified ski instructor who skied (and ice-skated) until he was 80 years old. He was fluent in Spanish and enjoyed having native speakers guess about the accent he'd picked up from living in Mexico, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic and Honduras. Joe did the NYT crossword in pen every morning, and no one was allowed to help.

Following graduation from American University in 1965 with a B.A. degree in Government, Joe worked for the Special Operations Research Office at American University for two years. Next he held marketing positions for Texaco in Latin America and the U.S. until one day the SVP of public affairs for Texaco heard a radio interview Joe gave about the oil industry and recruited him for the corporate PR team in NYC. Subsequently, Joe became head of corporate communications in Houston for Texaco U.S.A., and then for Tenneco, Inc. In addition to his work in the energy sector, Joe held senior management communications positions with Hill and Knowlton, Trigon Healthcare, and Pillsbury, Madison and Sutro.

Joe is survived by his wife of 30 years Barbara Henderson, children Dr. Bruce Macrum and Emily Ratti, stepchildren Joel Henderson and Aubrey Siegel, and 7 much-loved grandchildren, as well as his brothers Douglas and Michael Macrum and former wife and friend Anne Lugar Johnson. Joe's son Robert Macrum died in 2005 while serving in the U.S. Navy.

The family will have a private celebration of life for Joe. For those who may wish to honor Joe, please consider a donation in his name to either the California Science Center or the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Los Angeles Times on Jul. 23, 2023.

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5 Entries

Mike Johnson

August 13, 2023

Sorry for your loss, I knew Joe & Anne from 1969 as they were a dear family friends, Barb , Brother Bruce and sister Emily- our thoughts are with you all in this time. It was great to see Joe in February this year and talk about old times, especially remember Skiing in Yosemite badger Pass in 1970 or 71 with all the family. Mike & TC Johnson

July 30, 2023

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.

Scott and Robin Davis

July 22, 2023

We will miss Joe / Papi and his amazing stories and sense of humor. Always had a smile on his face and loved seeing him with the grand kids. Memories of skiing, football and dominoes. It's a huge loss for the family.

EUGENE DIOU, PhD

July 20, 2023

Barb
So sorry for your loss. Joe was a great guy. May he rest in peace.
Gene Diou (Eileen's brother)

Mike Macrum

July 19, 2023

My brother could indeed tell a tale. True ones, funny ones and whoppers.

RIP Joe.

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