Parents Father: FOWLER, Joseph Creamer Mother: SKEAD, Helen M. Birth Born on November 03, 1945 in Long Island City, Queens, New York, NY Death Died on November 06, 2009 in Baltimore, MD Buried in United States Military Academy Post Cemetery in West Point, Orange Co., NY Marriages MURPHY, Patricia Joan Children J.FOWLER, Bryan FOWLER, Michele K.: 1976 Notes Obituary: Joseph Creamer Fowler Jr. was born on Nov 3, 1945, and grew up as the oldest of five children in Long Island, NY. He graduated from Charminade High School in 1963 and attended the University of Dayton prior to entering West Point on Jul 1, 1964. His college experience and his capacity for hard work put him in good stead with the academic departments; however, it was his personable, caring nature and aptitude for teamwork that endeared him to his classmates, A-Squad Baseball teammates, and all with whom he came in contact. You could easily talk to Joe because you could tell he was really listening, not only to hear what you said, but also to understand what you really meant. Everybody was a teammate and everybody was important to Joe. When I came down with a severe case of poison ivy at Camp Buckner, Joe was the man who deftly handled the calamine lotion that allowed me to sleep in the evening. After graduation, Joe married his long time sweetheart Patricia Murphy, and they set out to build their future together while Joe took his place as a professional officer. At first, he opted for Field Artillery, where he and Trish made the Basic Course more tolerable to other young married couples with their high jinks and the joyful way they led their lives. They then relocated to Germany before Joe went to the Fixed Wing Aviator Course to become a pilot and serve at Ft. Bragg, NC. Joe, however, had another goal in life, a passionate commitment to the law. He earned his law degree at Northeastern University, and became a highly distinguished military judge advocate, serving 19 years as a lawyer in uniform. His career spanned every aspect of the military legal environment, ranging from legal advice along the DMZ of Korea, to teaching, leading, and managing large organizations. After serving as Deputy SJA at Ft. Devens, MA (where he cut his teeth and garnered an impressive reputation as a trial attorney and Chief of Justice), Joe became the Staff Judge Advocate of the 2d Division in Korea. After Korea, Joe was assigned as a member of the Staff and Faculty of the renowned Judge Advocate Generals School in Charlottesville, VA, where he was one of the most respected members of that elite faculty. Unfortunately, it was in Charlottesville that Trish was diagnosed with cancer and passed away. Joe was not meant to live his life alone. As destiny would have it, he met and married the wonderful and caring Barbara Bell Foglia in Charlottesville and she became his new life-partner. Combining their children into one lively family of six, they moved from Charlottesville to Ft. Rucker, AL, where Joe was Staff Judge Advocate, then on to the Army War College. Joe's last two assignments in the military were two of the very few command assignments in the Judge Advocate General's Corps\emdash as Commander of the Claims Service in Germany and then at Ft. Meade. He retired from active duty in 1994 as a colonel. Upon retirement, Joe began working for the Laborers International Union of North America in Washington, DC, where he served as Executive Director for the Laborers Health and Safety Fund of North America. Joe was an avid golfer and physical fitness devotee, a member of the Standing Committee for the Class of 1968, a devout Catholic and an active member of his church community. However, his greatest joy was his family. A loving husband and father, he reveled in his new role as grandpa. He was eagerly awaiting the arrival of twin grandchildren when tragedy struck. Joe suffered a massive stroke on his 64th birthday that proved fatal three days later. Following a moving funeral at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church, with many of Joe's West Point classmates in attendance, Barbara and her family, accompanied by Joe's closest friends Colonel Steve and Pauline Lancaster, laid Joe to rest at the West Point Cemetery where he joined his beloved Corps. One of the class programs Joe had supported was the acquisition of Class Colors that were unfurled for the first time at his funeral. He was a dear friend to all who knew him\emdash a larger-than-life figure of boundless love, fierce loyalty, deep integrity, and seemingly endless energy. He treated each day as a gift and in doing so made each day a gift for everyone he encountered. He was the kind of guy upon whom everyone knew they could rely because he would be there for them in a heartbeat, and he would always know the right thing to do. He never did anything without pouring his heart into it and he never met someone without becoming a friend. Joe was a shining example of how someone can live his life to the fullest and can strive each day to make the world a better place. His quick wit, boundless enthusiasm, faith, love of his fellow man, and friendly nature were attributes that made him joy to know and be with, and he will always be with us in our hearts. Abraham Lincoln said, "Die when I may, I want it said of me by those who knew me best that I always plucked a thistle and planted a flower where I thought a flower would grow." Joe was always there for us, always planting and nourishing the flowers. He was and is an inspiration and is missed by all. "Well done," Joe, "Be Thou at Peace. West Point Association of Graduates 2019 TAPS Occupation: US Army Lt. Colonel Sources Findagrave.com: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/119994403/joseph_creamer-fowler Images Joseph C. Fowler Jr Joseph Fowler Jr