Joseph J. Cordes

Joseph J. Cordes, 76, passed away February 26, 2026, in Fairfax, Virginia, following a brief illness.

Born in San Fransico, California on April 16, 1949. Joseph was the only child of Joseph J. Cordes (Sr.) and Elizabeth R. Cordes (nee Kaiser), both deceased.

He attended St. Brendan Catholic School and St. Ignatius College Prep in San Franciso. He received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University in Palo Alto, California and a Doctoral degree from University of Wisconsin, Madison.

For more than 50 years he taught at The George Washington University in Washington, DC and served in a variety of administrative roles. He loved his work, his students, and the people he worked with. Learning new ideas, statistical methods and concepts that would help him understand and integrate information to share with his students and colleagues brought him great pleasure. He was a member of numerous professional organizations.

Joseph is survived by his wife of 51 years, Ann, his son, Paul Cordes (Joyce) and his daughter, Sarah Cordes Cordero (Fernando). He took great joy in his role as a doting grandfather to J.J. and Jean Cordes and Maximo, Thomas, and Beatrice Cordero. He took every opportunity to indulge in his role as Opa.

He will be missed.

A Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00am on Thursday, March 5th at St. Mary of Sorrows Catholic Church in Fairfax. Burial will be in Fairfax Memorial Park on Friday, March 6th at 11:00am.

Joseph believed in supporting those who needed help. He contributed time and financial support to organizations designed to help people with physical and/or mental disabilities, those who were hungry or homeless, and those seeking social justice.

Memorial support of these causes would be appreciated as a way to honor his memory.