Joseph H. Perdue was among one of the last groups of World War II veterans to graduate from UBC, after taking a government-sponsored opportunity to further his education. He graduated with an Electrical Engineering degree in 1952. Joseph credited his UBC education for a successful career, retiring at 68. He passed away on April 6, 2017 at the age of 96.

Joseph was born in New Westminster, BC in 1921. At the young age of 17, he enlisted in the Canadian Navy, where he served until the end of World War II. After his service, the Canadian government gave him the opportunity to further his education, and so he enrolled at UBC. He always said his years at UBC were happy ones, and he made many lifelong friends. The university also helped him to find summer jobs which provided him the opportunity to go to the Yukon for three years in a row. Then, in 1951, he took a summer job in South Slocan with West Kootenay Power and Light Company, where he met his wife Teresa. They were married soon after in December 1951.

After his graduation, Joseph and Teresa moved to Toronto, where they raised five children (Catherine, Brian, Julie, Dan and Colleen). One of his greatest joys in life were his children, nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild. He proudly lived to see one of his grandsons, Dylan Perdue, graduate in engineering from the same university, 64 years after he did. There was nothing more important to Joseph than his family, who were with him when he passed.

One of Joseph’s strongest beliefs was in the value of education and he believed that learning should be a lifelong pursuit. In his memory, the Joseph Perdue Memorial Fund has been established at the UBC Faculty of Applied Science.

Your gift will pay tribute to Joseph’s life and career, by supporting students to succeed in the UBC Engineering program.