In 1953, Rinso took a job with the Texaco Refinery in Sunburst. The family settled in Sweet Grass from July 1953 through July 1957, then moved to Sunburst where they stayed until Texaco closed its Sunburst plants in 1958. Joe graduated a proud Refiner that year. Joe’s heart and soul have remained in Sweet Grass forever, no matter where his life journey took him. To stay with Texaco, the family moved to Anacortes, Wash. (as did many Sunburst families).
Joe joined the National Guard in 1958 after summer school at the University of Montana. He continued his studies at Skagit Valley College until Tracy graduated from high school in 1960. The brothers then joined the U.S. Air Force in December 1960 and served until December 1964. They were separated just after basic training, the first time each man faced the world without the support of his “twin.” Duty kept them apart from April 1961 until January of 1964. The USAF sent Joe to Yale University to become a Korean linguist. He earned a top-secret clearance and served a tour in Korea as an airborne intercept specialist. He wore his wings proudly! He spent the final year of his enlistment at Larson AFB, Moses Lake, Wash., happy to be reunited with brother, Tracy.
The brothers spent 1965 “sowing wild oats and planning to attend college in Missoula.” Tracy’s death in February 1966 left Joe devastated. “Why?” was a question he would never answer, though he learned to eventually cope…with the grace of God.
Joe hired on at Texaco in Anacortes in February 1966. In 1967 he married Deni Lawrence of Sweet Grass. They moved back to Sunburst in 1969 where he worked for Big West in Kevin until its closure. They then moved to Kalispell and adopted daughter, Jodi, in 1975 and son, Tracy, in 1977. Joe worked for City Service/Northwest Propane in Kalispell, then Libby. He and Deni divorced in 1989.
Joe then married the love of his life, Carolyn Follett, in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, on March 16, 1991. They moved back to Kalispell in 1993. Joe continued driving tanker truck for City Service and was promoted to fleet dispatcher, where he retired in 2001.
Retirement provided time to complete a family history started in 1994. In 2004 he self-published his memoir, Bury Me In Montana. “The greatest benefit,” he said, “is that telling the story healed my soul. God inspired me to write for my sake. I learned how to forgive. It made me a better man.”
Joe was preceded in death by his brother, Tracy, in 1966; his father, “Rinso,” in 1967; sister, Nancy, in 1971 and mother, Pearl, in 2012. Also, Tom and Ruby (Foss) McAlpine on his mother Pearl’s side.
He is survived by his wife, Carolyn. Joe also leaves his daughter, “Lightfoot” Jodi White and her sons, Zachariah and Gabriel; great-grandchildren, Daniel and William (whom he truly considers his boys). Joe also leaves his son, Tracy “Scooter” White, of Anacortes, Wash.; brother, Bert White, and his son, Jared (Teresa) White; nephew, Jaxson and niece, Lily. Joe’s niece, Indra Black and husband, John Smith, are special to him; Indra is a kindred soul, as they share both writing and photography interests. He is also very proud of brother, Tracy’s, daughter, Donna (Paul) Peltier and family. Last, but not least, the whole, truly special McAlpine Family!
