Joseph Maurice Picard 's Obituary
Joseph Maurice Picard (Joe), age 96, passed away peacefully on March 22, 2020. Born on February 14, 1924 in Lewiston, Maine, he was the oldest of four children of Auguste Picard and Melinda Martineau. After graduating from Lewiston High School in 1942, Joe joined the Navy and was sent to Newport, Rhode Island the following November for basic training. He served in the Navy for six years on his first tour. Joe was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Hancock for its maiden voyage from Boston through the Panama Canal to San Diego, Oahu, then the South Pacific. During his time in the South Pacific he survived a direct kamikaze hit. He completed his tour after the war ended and spent the last two years in Kaneohe, Hawaii. Upon returning home in 1948 he discovered work was difficult to find in Lewiston. Fortunately for him he was called back by the Navy to serve in the Korean War. He was supposed to go to Korea, but he made it only as far as Iwakuni, Japan. Joe served another three years in the Navy finishing his tour in San Diego, where he learned civilian workers made more money than sailors. After leaving the Navy a second time he returned to Lewiston and decided to go to San Diego as a civilian. Joe told his longtime sweetheart, Georgette Renaud, he was going to San Diego and asked her if she wanted to come with him. Joe and Georgette were married three weeks later on May 10, 1952 and began their married life by driving across the country to build a home in San Diego. Georgette found work right after they arrived. It took Joe a week to get a job at North Island Naval Air Station, the same place he had been while in the Navy. Joe and Georgette lived in the same house on Zena Drive for over 57 years. Joe retired from civil service in 1979 spending all 27 years at North Island. For many years Joe was very active in Boy Scouts. Three of his sons were Eagle Scouts. Joe enjoyed backpacking and formed a co-ed explorer post in 1973. After the explorer post disbanded Joe continued to go on occasional backpacking trips with the group of men called the “domes” (dirty old men). One of Joe’s favorite hobbies was making hammer handles. He would go to swap meets and find old hammers, have a friend refurbish the head, and he would fit it with a beautiful handle. Joe had a big collection of hammers in his workshop. He also enjoyed making cutting boards, many of which friends & family still have. Joe and Georgette took many trips together from day trips around the US, to cruises, to a train trip across Canada. Both of them remained very fit walking every day and taking a long walk (up to 10 miles) on Wednesdays until they were unable to do so. Georgette was the love of his life. She preceded him in death in 2015 after 63 years of marriage. Joe is survived by his brother Normand (Janine) of Nashua, New Hampshire; his sisters Rachael LaPointe of Bangor, Maine, and Sister Suzanne Picard of Hudson, New Hampshire; his five children and their spouses: Michael (Elizabeth) of Plano, Texas; James (Tracy) of Carlsbad; Marie (Dan Purgiel) of Portland, Oregon; Robert (Stephanie) of Rose Hill, Kansas; and Thomas (Tracy) of Oceanside, as well as 14 grandchildren and their spouses and six great-grandchildren. Everyone will remember Joe as a kind and friendly person always willing to lend a helping hand. Memorial service TBD.
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