Edwin Joseph (Joe) Jolly

Col. Edwin Joseph Jolly (Joe), age 97, a native of Albuquerque, died Saturday, April 2, 2011. Joe served in Hawaii, the Philippines and Okinawa in the Army Reserve during WWII from 1942 through 1945. His career with the Soil Conservation Service began in Gallup and in Phoenix. After the war, he resumed work in Phoenix and in Salt Lake City. He transferred to the Dept of Agriculture in Mexico City then to the Foreign Agriculture Service in Washington and subsequently to the Agricultural Research Service in Minneapolis and finally with the federal government in Washington, DC. Joe had a parallel career as a reserve officer in the Army, becoming a logistician. He retired in Washington for a period of time and represented a Paris art firm. When Joe and his wife, Helene Ann (Nancy) returned to Albuquerque in 1980 he became active in judicial reform and served as president of Court Update. Col. Jolly is survived by his wife, Nancy of 69 years, his children, Margaret Jolly of Albuquerque, Frank Jolly and his wife, Barbara of Charlottesville, VA, Sylvia Buell and husband, Dennis of Gaithersburg, MD, Mike Jolly and wife, Bonnie of Bloomington, IN; eight grandchildren and two great grandchildren. A Rosary will be recited on Friday, May 6, 2011, 10:30 a.m. followed by the celebration of the Funeral Mass, 11:00 a.m., at St. Thomas Aquinas Parish in Rio Rancho followed by a committal service at 1:30 p.m. at Santa Fe National Cemetery, Santa Fe, NM. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the SolAmor Hospice Foundation, 7301 Indian School Rd. NE, Albuquerque, NM 87110.