Joseph Allen Deerkop, passed away after a battle with Parkinson’s disease Thursday, June 6, 2024, surrounded by family.
Joe was the youngest of seven children born to August and Opal Deerkop and grew up on the family farm outside of Palouse. After graduating from high school, Joe attended Spokane Vocational Tech becoming a certified machinist and gaining a lifelong friendship with his roommate Phil Butler. Joe and Phil had many adventures together, taking annual road trips to Mexico, New Orleans and New York.
After graduation Joe returned to Palouse, working on the family farm and finding the love of his life, Donna Shaw, whom he went on to marry on May 15, 1966.
Joe joined the Labors Local #238 in the late 1960s, proudly working on projects ranging from the Little Goose Dam to a great number of the buildings on the Washington State University and University of Idaho campuses over the next three decades.
In 1971, Joe surprised his wife with Suzy, a white Saanen goat, who was housed in an old pup tent in their backyard. With winter coming and the tent deemed insufficient, the couple purchased an 11-acre farm they jokingly named Goat Ridge Ranch. Soon the farm was home to dozens of goats, Guernsey milk cows, chickens, honeybees and for a brief while, free-roaming flocks of peacocks and guinea fowl.
In 1980 they welcomed their son, Wolfgang. Joe was a hardworking husband and father who didn’t let a full-time job keep him from the daily farm work he loved. Cows were milked morning and night, 50-plus apple trees were pruned, picked and turned into cider, and a huge garden was put in each and every summer.
After retiring from the union in 1998, Joe built a wood and metal working shop where he created beautiful furniture for friends and family and spent countless hours working on mechanical projects. Joe was an excellent mechanic who enjoyed keeping vehicles in tip-top shape, make and model made no difference.
Joe enjoyed retirement with a life at home filled with the company of family and animals, particularly Dachshunds. Even as Parkinson’s began to take its toll, Joe lived life on his own terms, never willing to ask for help but always willing to lend a hand.
Joe is survived by his wife, Donna Deerkop; sister, Barbara Deerkop; son, Wolfgang Deerkop, and daughter-in-law, Kacie Deerkop; as well as numerous nieces and nephews.
The memorial service for Joe Deerkop will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Kramer Funeral Home, 203 N. Bridge St., Palouse, with Rev. Corey Laughary officiating.
Kramer Funeral Home of Palouse is in charge of arrangements. Online condolences may be left at kramercares.com.
