Joseph R. Sexton of Stamford passed away on Feb. 15 at the age of 90. He was a member of Darien Senior Men’s Association, the Darien Cotillion and Woodway Country Club.
Joseph Sexton, 90, passed away on Feb. 15. His funeral will be Feb. 24.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Elizabeth and Romeo Sexton, his sister, Eileen, his brother Jim, and his first wife, Barbara MacLea.
Joe was born on March 1, 1925 in Litchfield, Minn. His small hometown of 3,000 people was a great place to grow up. His family always had dogs, a pony, pigeons, baby chicks and rabbits.
Joe’s family moved to Minneapolis when he was 10 years old. In grade school he taught the city boys how to tackle. He graduated from St. Thomas Academy, a military high school, in 1943. While there he became a first lieutenant in the cadet corps, was on the crack drill squad, quarterback on the football team, and co-captained the track team. Always busy, his summer jobs included working on a farm in Darwin, Minn., at a pea cannery in Montgomery, Minn., and he was a Western Union boy delivering messages in Minneapolis.
He enlisted in the Navy Air Corps and was called up July 1, 1943, a month after high school graduation and served in active duty until 1946. He was stationed at training bases in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas, and je recalled this time as the most memorable of his life. Afterwards, he flew in the Navy Ready Reserve at Floyd Bennett Field in New York, NY. He flew the Navy dive bomber, torpedo bomber and anti-submarine planes.
Joe graduated in 1949 “with distinction” form the University of Minnesota, with a degree in chemical engineering. There he was president of the Alpha Delta Phi fraternity and was a member of two honorary societies: Tau Beta Pi, engineering, and Phi Lambda Upsilon, chemistry. While working in the placement office in his senior year, he met the recruiter from Exxon and decided to work for them during the summer before he entered Harvard Business School. While at Harvard, he played rugby. He graduated in 1951 with an MBA.
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— an obituary from Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home
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Joe then took a full time job as a process engineer with Exxon and remained with the company until retirement, 35 years later. After three years at Exxon’s Baton Rouge refinery, his jobs with the company included two years in the New York corporate office to work with company economics and planning; a transfer to the Standard Vacuum Oil Co. in White Plains, N.Y. (half-owned by Exxon and half by Mobil). He enjoyed living in New York. He learned how to ride, and flew on weekends with the Navy Ready Reserve.
Joe was assigned to Indonesia for two years as economic coordinator. He lived in Palembang, Sumatra, where a refinery was located, and later in Jakarta.
He returned to the United States home office and met and married Barbara MacLea in 1960. He was sent to Australia as economic coordinator, where his sons Bennet and Stephen were born.
Later he worked forExxon’s new Pakistan Fertilizer Company as economic coordinator based in Karachi and later as director of marketing. In 1971 he was transferred to Hong Kong, where he worked as raw materials product line manager for the newly established Exxon Chemicals Far East corporate headquarters. While the family was there, his youngest son, Derek was born.
During the 15 years he was there, he traveled through all of Asia, as well as to Exxon manufacturing centers around the world, which were supply points to Exxon customers in the Far East.
He retired in 1986 and moved to Westport with his family. He went to work for Louis Dreyfus, an oil trading company. Later he became the Tree Warden in Westport. Later he was president of The Cotton Club and a board member of Pickwick, both social groups.
Joe was a member of St. Leo Parish where he was a Eucharistic Minister, and he belonged to the Teams of Mary. He was a member of Woodway Country Club, and the Harvard Club of New York. He was social events chair of the Darien Senior Men’s Association, a past secretary of the CT Exxon Annuitants Club, and a member of the Darien Cotillion. He volunteered with The Friends of Ferguson Library and was a member of the Forum of World Affairs.
He was a loving and kind husband, father and grandfather. He always saw the best in everyone and never said an unkind word about anyone. He noticed the little things that people said they wanted and tried to provide them to make them happy. He had a lovely Irish sense of humor mixed with German conscientiousness. He was absolutely trustworthy.
He had an unfailing enthusiasm to try new things and was always “ready to go” at a moment’s notice. He loved to dance and had a contagious singing voice and an ear-splitting whistle. Joe was a gentleman and a gentle man. He was truly loved and respected by all who had the opportunity to know him. God Bless Grandpa Joe.
His wife Barbara died in 1990. In 2003, he married Ann M. Lake and moved to Stamford.
Surviving Joe are his wife, Ann, his three sons Bennet of Stamford, Steve of San Diego, and Derek of New York City, his step-daughter Dianne Vara and her husband Michael; and his step-grandchildren Chase, Carson and Claudia.
His family will receive friends on Monday, Feb. 22, from 4 to 7 p.m. and again on Tuesday Feb. 23, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Leo P. Gallagher & Son Funeral Home, 2900 Summer St, Stamford.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 24 at St. Leo’s Church, 24 Roxbury Rd. Burial will be held at Spring Grove Cemetery, Darien. To leave an online condolence please visit the funeral home website.
Contributions may be made to: St. Thomas Academy, 949 Mendota Heights Road, Mendota Heights, MN 55120 or Friends of Ferguson Library, 1 Public Library Plaza, Stamford, CT 06901