Joseph Pessarra:
CLASS OF 1949
Freeport High SchoolClass of 1949
Freeport, TX
Brazosport High SchoolClass of 9999
Freeport, TX
St. Edward's UniversityClass of 1954
Austin, TX
Joseph's Story
Life
(July, 2011) - Joseph (Jody/Joe) Pessarra, married to Cecilia (Cele) Dalberg. Two children, Richard (Ric), 40, Civil/Structural Engineer in Houston, Texas; Paige, 38, Pre-Kindergarten Teacher in Laguna beach, California, with onebaby boy, Leo. Worked the summer after graduation in Yard Crew and Plant Protection at Dow. Last summer student to leave Dow after they found I did not plan to go to college. Worked for my brother, Henry, a building contractor for about a year, then as a Western Union teleprinter operator for three months, then to St. Edward's University, Austin, Texas for a four-year BS in Physics. Worked every summer at Dow. Two years in Uncle Sam's Army as a radio repairman - Ft. Bliss, Texas; Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey; Ft. Hood, Texas; Ft. Polk, Louisiana. My mother told me not to show up in Freeport again without a job, so I applied for and got one at Dow. Left the Army on a Friday and went to work at Dow on the next Monday. Worked for 10 years as an analytical instrument engineer, then 10 years as a plant process simulation specialist, using both analog and digital computers. Then I spent 17 years as a purchasing agent. I married Cele in 1961. She had a Medical Technologist degree and worked at Dow in the Industrial Medicine and Research Departments. When our children were born, Cele quit her work at Dow until both were going all day to school. Then she returned to work at Dow, retiring in 1987. I retired from Dow in 1993. Have volunteered most of my time with various church organizations. Was elected to the Board of Regents at Brazosport College in 1994 and again in 1996. Was elected Chairman of the Board in 1996 and again in 1998. Resigned from the Board in November of 1998 and moved to Del Webb's Sun City, Georgetown, Texas. Hobbies are listening to good music, reading, traveling, genealogy an...Expand for more
d computer Internet and Email use. My wife is also interested in some of these same hobbies, and the application of all of them, complementing one another, has enabled us to find and make many, many friends and relatives all over the world. We spend at least a month each year with some of these individuals in England and/or Germany. We have done some house swapping with some of them in the past. We spent a month during the Christmas and New Year's Holidays '97-'98 with a Pesarra family that operates a bed and breakfast in England near the Scottish border. They, in turn have come to visit us many times. We have also visited with some of Joe's distant relatives in the Bavarian part of Germany, and in other parts of Germany.
My memories of school include many of the dedicated teachers we had, including Mrs. Gleason, Mrs. (Bevill) Pilly, Miss Kastl, Miss Street's Math class (who taught us always to remember the date of our birth so we could figure out our age mathematically, reasoning it was easier to remember something that remained the same instead of something that changed every year). Also, "What's that got to do with the price of rice in China?" when we gave stupid answers to her questions. Mr. Blair and his innovative way of teaching us Algebra -- do the first assigned problem on the board, get it right, skip five problems, get the next one right, skip 10 problems, get it wrong, go back five, etc.), Mr. Guest and Physics, Coach Hopper and American History, Coach Mac Leaka and P.E. calisthenics ("Get those arms up, breathe deep, or do you want to end up in a T.B. asylum?"), fun doing the crossword puzzle for the school paper, and getting off work at Western Union at 9:00 p.m. in time to catch the home football game's final few plays.
Contact me through Classmates.com with your email address, and we can converse directly.
Register for Free to view all details!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos