Joe Marvin Dorgan was born October 22, 1934, in Ruston, Louisiana, to John Cavett Dorgan and Esther Cheatwood Dorgan. He had two older brothers, John and Howard. His early years were spent in Louisiana and Texas, and he graduated from Clint High School in Clint, Texas, in 1952.  

Joe received a bachelor’s degree in math in 1957 from Texas Western College, now UTEP. Joe worked his way through college doing a variety of jobs. He said that at the El Paso County Water & Sewer District, he learned which way is downhill. At El Paso Electric, he dug holes with jackhammers across mountains to bring light from Texas to New Mexico, according to him. At the Naval Ordinance Test Station, China Lake, Ca, he was hired in 1957 as a mathematician in the Test Department Data Reduction Branch, eventually becoming the branch head.

Joe married Ann Uehling in July 1962. Daughter Carrie was born in 1964, and son Glen in 1966. An avid golfer, Joe enjoyed playing at the China Lake Golf Course, where he had a hole-in-one on the 6th hole on June 22, 1972 (he would want you to know it was a five iron, 188 yards). Joe participated in years of Steve Lee’s Backyard Players Productions, known for his comic acting ability. After retirement in 1992, Joe and Ann spent years in Ann’s home state of Wisconsin, where Joe golfed, enjoying his own golf cart for the first time. He volunteered at Marsh Haven Nature Center, was president of the Waupun Lions Club, Waupun, WI, and finance chairman of the Waupun United Methodist Church. In 2011, Joe and Ann returned to California to live in Paso Robles near family. 

On August 13, 2022, Joe passed away after an 18-year battle with Alzheimer’s disease. He is survived by his wife, Ann, daughter Carrie (John) Park, son Glen (Cheryl) Dorgan, three sisters-in-law, one brother-in-law, five nephews, and two nieces and their families.

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