Born August 10th 1934 to Harold Reed Baldwin and Alberta Grace Sealock, he was one of eight children born of their marriage. They were a Quaker family settling from the Ohio area to south Texas.
As a young teenager, working on his father’s farm in Palacios, he would watch Army Air Corp pilots training from the pasture and wondered what it would be like to soar among the clouds. This sparked a passion that lasted a life time. He obtained his private pilot’s license by the age of 16 and at 18 he enlisted in the United States Air Force.
He was trained in airframe and power plants when first entering the service which led to station assignments in Pensacola, Florida and El Paso, Texas. In El Paso, while attending church services, he met his wife to be Billie Jean Wilson and they married on December 10th 1956.
In 1958, he trained to be a flight engineer on the C-124 Globemaster and then transitioned to the C-141 Starlifter when it came into service. He was in the Air Force 26 years, retiring on September 1, 1980. He was a Vietnam Veteran.
His marriage to Billie Jean produced 6 children: Joseph Hugh Baldwin Jr, Robert Allen Baldwin, Tamara Jean Bailey, Andrew Dean Baldwin, Terry Lynn Baldwin and Angelyn Jenise Burk. He was a family man who raised his children to respect God.
He is preceded in death by his son Andrew, his father and mother, Harold and Alberta, three brothers, Oliver, Howard and Donald, two sisters, Lillian and Irene, and grandson Joseph Cecil Baldwin.
He is survived by his wife, three sons, two daughters, 18 grandchildren and 19 great grandchildren.
He gave selflessly to his family and country. He is deeply loved and respected by his family.
The family will receive visitors on Friday, May 27th at Limbaugh Funeral Home in Portland from 10:30-12:00. Following the viewing, a graveside service will ensue at the Coastal Bend State Veterans Cemetery in Corpus Christi at 1:00 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Bonita Park Joseph Baldwin Memorial at 200 Bonita Park Road, Angus, NM 88316.
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