Joe Allen Mountain

Joe Allen Mountain, 81, passed away March 12, 2024. He was born in Altoona, PA to the late Joseph Mountain and Alma Bechtel Mountain.
Joe attended and graduated from Johnstown High, in Johnstown, PA. He then attended the University of Pittsburgh and graduated with a degree (BS) in biology. Over the next 60-years, Joe would go on to advance the field of shrimp farming worldwide.
After college, Joe joined the US Marine Corp. He married his loving wife of 58 years, Patricia Carroll and the newly married couple moved to Florida where he taught Biology and began his career in aquaculture at the Florida State Marine Lab in St. Petersburg, FL. Joe and Patricia had their daughter, Kimberly in 1970, followed by their twin sons, Joseph and William in 1972. The family then moved to Panama in 1975 when Joe was hired by Ralston Purina to develop a shrimp farm.
The family returned to the United States before venturing to Sri Lanka, where Joe was again contracted to build a shrimp farm. In 1985, the family returned to Florida. Joe joined Shrimp Culture, Incorporated, a private consulting firm in Miami, that helped advanced aquaculture practices in South America. Later, he and Pat moved to Fort Pierce where he continued his work at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and later retired. In his retirement, Joe was an amateur herpetologist, and enjoyed fishing, raising leopard geckos, daily crosswords, puzzles, and making a mean martini for his friends. But most importantly, Joe dedicated himself to his community by volunteering weekly at the Notre Dame Soup Kitchen, St. Vincent D'Paul's Charity and St. Mark's Thrift Store. He and Patricia were also members of the St. Mark's Catholic Church community.
Joe is survived by his loving wife, Patricia, children, Kimberly and her husband Eric Kimchi, William Mountain, and Joseph Mountain and his grandchildren, Benjamin, Emma, and Caroline Kimchi, and Victoria and Trevor Mountain, their mother, Annette Mountain, his brother Ned Mountain and wife, Nancy Mountain, and nieces Barbara and Amanda.