Joseph George McCrate was the oldest son of Zelline and Joseph McCrate and was born on January 12, 1935, in Portageville, Missouri. He died peacefully on March 25, 2025, in Palo Alto, California.

Joe graduated from Chaminade High School in St. Louis, Missouri. He obtained a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Dayton in Ohio. He received an M.S. in Engineering from UCLA and continued his studies in Electrical Engineering and Philosophy at Stanford University.

He worked as an electrical engineer for Howard Hughes, taught philosophy at the University of Wyoming for a year, and was a pioneer in the computer field, traveling back and forth to Asia for several years for his job.

He inspired others by his sheer love of learning and enjoyed learning things from other people. He loved talking to old friends and meeting new people. He would come away from a party having talked to each person there.

Joe loved art and architecture. He built two beautiful homes and thoroughly enjoyed being very involved in the entire process, taking his love of art and architecture to a new level with each house.

Joe was fortunate to have both lifelong friends and new friends who cared about him and were supportive of him. He valued his friendships and was grateful for them all. He always returned home to Portageville for Christmas every year. He loved spending time with family and enjoyed family parties and gatherings. He was honored for his 90th birthday during this past holiday season.

On his trips home, numerous discussions were had around the kitchen table. Almost no topic was off limits, including politics. He never turned down a good argument but was frequently in want of a willing participant. He could clear a room quickly if there was a hint of a topic turning into an argument.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, Joseph and Zelline McCrate, his stepmother, Harriette Hunter McCrate, three brothers, Bob, Terry, and John, an infant sister, and his nephew, Brendan McCrate.

He leaves to cherish his memories two sisters, Martha McCrate (Bohlmann) of St. Louis, Ann McCrate of Dayton, Ohio and a brother, Tom (Marilyn) McCrate of Dayton, Ohio. He also leaves behind many nieces, nephews, cousins, and a host of other relatives and friends.

Funeral Mass Tuesday April 8, 2025 at 11:00 A.M  at St. Eustachius Catholic Church with burial in the Portageville Cemetery.