Joseph Vance Nolan

Joseph Vance Nolan was born in Indianapolis to Joseph P. and Jere Ann (Emmaline) Nolan.

During his high school years, Joe lived with his grandparents Edna and Vance Cummins and graduated from Manatee High School in Bradenton, Florida in 1949.

He loved working outdoors and tried his hand at bricklaying early in life.

He joined the Air Force in 1950 and was sent to Korea. After transferring to Otis AFB in Massachusetts, Joe’s best friend, Ronnie Finger, introduced him to Lori on a blind date and the fun began.

Joe and Lori married, started their family with Sheri, and then transferred to Hamilton AFB in California in 1956 where Vance was born. Craig was born in 1961 just before Joe received orders to Lajes Field in the Azores. There, he waited several lonely months for his family to arrive from their temporary home in Bradenton. It was in Florida that Joe discovered the Cypress Gardens water-skiers; Joe and Lori would later start a waterski club in the Azores with other Air Force families. The club achieved fame while Joe and Lori, as part of a skiing pyramid, were highlighted in the Air Force Times magazine. They also performed for the President of Portugal. Azores locals thought the American skiers were crazy, skiing in the bay where nearby sharks and jellyfish lurked.

Joe was ordered in 1965 to George AFB in California. The family settled in the Victor Valley for the next few decades. Joe served in Vietnam as a jet mechanic twice and also Thailand during the late 1960s and early ’70s. He returned to his family at George AFB, and subsequently retired as a Senior Master Sergeant after 22 1/2 years. After retirement, Joe earned his associate’s degree from Victor Valley College and worked at McDonnell Douglas. He also worked briefly at Valley Hardware in Victorville.

Joe later began a new career as a small equipment mechanic at Hesperia Unified School District, retiring from there after 15 years.

Joe and Lori loved camping, waterskiing, motorcycling, snow skiing and more with their children. Those times were filled with laughable incidents. Joe loved to tinker in his garage — he was the guy who could do or make just about anything. There were many weekend trips to the Colorado River with their children over the years and longer trips to Lake Powell. At Lake Powell, he was always the leader of the group of family/friends speeding into the canyons late into the day, occasionally into the night.

Waterskiing was a main event with the Nolans. In the early ’70s, Joe bought property at Spring Valley Lake so he could take everyone skiing. There were many windy weekends and vacation days spent at the lake. The entire family joined Wet Set Ski Club in Newberry Springs later in the ’70s and camped out for weekend tournaments.

Around 1981, Joe and Lori invested in property in Newberry Springs that would later become known as Great Lakes. They helped in the creation of the lakes from desert to oasis. This was to become the place where the entire family and friends spent many weekends over the years on and in the water. Joe was always in the boat driving for tournaments and for family and friends; if not driving, he was building or fixing something.

Later on, they had the most fun teaching their grandchildren how to ski, with Kelsie carrying on Joe’s legacy by becoming a great tournament waterskier and Georgia state champion nine years running, all because Grandpa wanted to share his love of waterskiing with his family. Joe had a reputation as a great tournament boat driver and he continued skiing and driving in many tournaments, up through the 2007 Western Regional tournament.

Joe was an avid motorcycle enthusiast. There were long motorcycle trips and poker runs with Lori and the children, at some point all with their own bikes. Even his mom, Jere, had her own motorcycle for a few trips. There were definitely some adventures on these trips. He loved those curvy roads and was always leader of the pack. He and Lori also enjoyed traveling in their motorhome. He always planned out his trips; up until his passing, Joe could tell you the best road to take almost anywhere in the US, without even looking at the map. He still loved to ride his motorcycle as recently as 2013, riding cross country on his Honda in addition to other cross-country trips in his camper.

In 2010, after 56 years of marriage, Joe lost his beautiful wife Lori after a lengthy illness. They had originally planned to follow Craig and his family to Georgia, so after some traveling back and forth, he decided to make a permanent move to his new home in the north Georgia Mountains. As Sheri and family had already made the move, Joe and Vance packed up their trucks, trailer and a U-haul and headed east.

Joe enjoyed being in a new environment (although he did miss the rest of his family and the dry desert heat), loved going to ski tournaments, and had a good time with his Georgia family living just minutes away.

Joe, the loving patriarch of his family and for many others, passed away on Jan. 26, 2018 in Georgia. He held honor with love and dignity and is already missed greatly.

Joe was preceded in death by the love of his life, Lorraine (Anctil) Nolan; parents,

Joseph P. Nolan and Jere Ann Miller; brother Terry Nolan; sister Patricia Hoy; and brother-in-law Joseph Anctil.

He is survived by his three children Sheri (Chuck) Foster, Craig (Shannon) Nolan and Vance Nolan (Teresa); seven grandchildren Nicole, Matthew, Travis, Kristin, Brandon, Lindsay, Kelsie; seven great-grandchildren; brother Thomas (Joyce) Nolan; sister-in-law Audrey (and best friend Ronnie) Finger; best friend/brother-in-law Buzz (Susan) Anctil; sister-in-law Merry Anctil; and many nieces and nephews.

Joe’s family plans to celebrate his life with a service at 11 a.m. Feb. 18 at Sunset Hills Memorial Park and Mortuary, 24000 Waalew Road in Apple Valley. Flowers may be sent there.

The family also welcomes donations to the Lymphoma Research Foundation, www.lymphoma.org, in Joe’s memory.