Joe Crain of Buckley, died Aug. 7, 2014 at the age of 69. He was born Nov. 28, 1944 to Joseph & Betty Crain in Auburn, WA. Joe graduated from Auburn High School in 1963. He served in the Navy, stationed on the USS Oklahoma City of the 7th fleet during the Vietnam War. He retired from the Bon Marche Warehouse after 32 years and also worked as a custodian for the White River School District for 10 years. Joe married Shirlee Newell, June 12, 1982 in Buckley. He loved family gatherings, fishing, gardening, playing cards and the Seahawks. He is preceded in death by his son, Thomas Crain in 2012, Father, Joseph Crain, Sr., sister & brother-in-law, Cheryl Sue & Joe Jensen.
Joe is survived by his wife, Shirlee Crain of Buckley; sons, Jon Crain & wife Lori of Buckley, Tony Newell & wife Lori of Bonney Lake, & Adam Crain & wife Sarah of Honolulu, HI. He is also survived by his mother, Betty J. Crain of Enumclaw, 7 grandchildren & 1 great grandchild.
Memorials may be made to: MultiCare Good Samaritan Home Health & Hospice, PO Box 5200, Tacoma, WA 98415. A visitation will be held, Tues. Aug. 12, 2014 from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Weeks' Funeral Home with a graveside service, Wed., Aug. 13, 2014 at 11:00 a.m. at Buckley City Cemetery. A memorial gathering will be held directly following the graveside service at the Glacier Middle School in the cafeteria.

Eulogy, written and read by Adam Crain

Family and Friends, today we have come together to remember and celebrate the life of Joseph Willis Crain Jr. A man I am honored to have called Dad. Its only natural that we should be sad today. We have a powerful sense of loss; combined with a recognition that; if death must come, its as well that its not unduly prolonged, we don't want to see someone we love suffer. He had fought a long time so that he could remain with this group of people whom he loved so much. And for that we can be thankful to him for having allowed us some extra time together.

Today is also a day for memories; to to pay our last respects and bid a sad but fond farewell to Joe.

Joe was born in November of 1944 to Joseph and Betty Crain in the small town of Auburn, WA. He was the oldest of three siblings. He was raised alongside with his sister Cheryl and brother Larry.

After graduating from Auburn High School Joe enlisted and served a four year period of service in the Navy during the Vietnam war like his father had near the end of World War II. A family tradition I have been honored to continue. He served onboard the USS Oklahoma City, the Flag Ship for the Seventh Fleet, for a period of three years. Most of that time was spent in the region of the South China Sea off the coast of Vietnam...providing gun and missile support to the troops serving on the ground.

When he returned from the Navy he settled back in Auburn where he became the proud father of his first two sons, Jon and Tom.

After working a few various jobs he settled in working at the Bon Marche warehouse as a shipping clerk. Not a job he particularly loved, but it payed the bills. He always told me that you don't necessarily have to love the work you do... he worked hard to pay the bills, and to be able to enjoy the things he liked when he wasn't at work. And as he demonstrated throughout the rest of his life, that was spending time with his Family.

It was during this period of time that Joe came into my life. My mom, Shirlee, was introduced to him by Jeanne and Larry at a Halloween party and it didn't take them long to figure out that they were a perfect fit. After a short courtship, they were married in June of 1982 at which time my mom, my brother Tony and I moved in together. I was only 5 years old at that time and Tony, 10.

Dad has always been able to bring family together. Over the entire course of my childhood my parents' house was host to so many holiday parties, endless volleyball, badminton, croquet games, and countless weekend gatherings which often included some sort of card game. I'm sure there are thousands of stories that many of you could tell about all those fun times shared. Those were truly the times he enjoyed most. Being with family and sharing a laugh together...

...And he loved to make people laugh. Sure, he knew plenty of jokes, but his favorite thing to do was to tell stories (tall tales). He would typically start by blending a few useless facts together in a way that would gain his audience's interest. Once he knew he had you hooked, he would continue to make things up until it got so outrageous you had to stop him and say "Wait a minute". Then he would share a laugh with you and leave you wondering just how much, if any, of that story had been true.

Joe retired from the Bon Marche Warehouse after having worked there for 32 years at which time he went on a gardening and deck building rampage for about two years. When the lumber yard finally ran out of lumber, he found his days were long and boring with mom still working. So he began working part time and later full time at the White River School district as a custodian. He approached his job there with the same fun loving demeanor he had at home and quickly became a favorite among the kids when he was able to work the day shift.

After all their boys were grown up and moved out of the house, Joe and Shirlee were blessed with the title of Grandpa and Grandma. Dad loved being able to spend time with his Grandson's Derrick and Travis and Granddaughter Erin. They often were able to host them for sleepovers and he loved to take them to the park or to so shopping and spoil them with some new shoes. He would tell them to come give him a kiss on the cheek and at the last second would turn quickly to give them a kiss on the lips. Or he would tell them to come here so I can smack you around...and they would come over every time so they could get some fun rough-housing from Grandpa.

One of the most important things Dad taught me the whole time I was growing up was how to love a woman. He did this the best way possible. It was not by sitting down with me and giving me a long list of do's and don'ts. It was purely by example. My parents shared a supportive, respectful, and inseparable love for each other for nearly 33 years. It was plain as day. I couldn't tell you how many people have told me just how cute they thought my parents were as a couple. Each and every day I witnessed my parents greet one another home from work with a warm kiss. It was not uncommon for him to show up with flowers on random days and my mom would exclaim "what are these for!" and he would tell her they were just her happy day flowers, or just because he loved her so much. He never stopped flirting with her from the day he met her. I believe that is was that constant courtship that always kept their love young and fresh.

Joe died on August 7th after a long fight with cancer. He was taken from us far too soon. But I believe that he lives on in all of us. He has touched our lives in many different ways, and through remembering him we keep him with us. If there is anybody that has a story they would like to tell or would just like to say a goodbye; please come up and share with us. Help each of us to remember the things that made him such a great husband, son, brother, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, uncle, or friend.