Joseph Edward McDermott, 67, of Cape Girardeau, died Sunday, April 25, 1999 at Select Specialty Hospital in the St. Francis Hospital Building in Memphis, Tn. He was born in St. Louis, Mo. on September 23, 1931. He was the son of the late Albert and Myrtle Martin McDermott. He had three brothers: Raymond and Thomas (both deceased) and Albert of St. Louis, and two sisters Jane Waurzyniak (deceased) and Loretta Ladowski of Detroit, MI.He and his wife of forty-three years, the former Doris Gaie Bunn were married July 30, 1955 in Springfield, Mo. She survives, along with two children, Dr. Timothy Joseph McDermott of Cullman, Alabama and Robin Jill Blalack of Bartlett, Tn. There are five surviving grandchildren: Andrew Joseph, Matthew Thomas, and Ivy Katherine McDermott, and Hanna Elizabeth and Jonathan Alan Blalack.

Joseph served in the armed forces during the years 1951 to 1953 and was stationed in Tulle Greenland and Fort Carson, Col. After an honorable discharge, he attended and graduated from Southwest Missouri State University in Springfield, Mo. in 1957. Following this, Joseph began his career in the petroleum industry initially as a sales representative for Derby Refining Company and later promoted to general sales manager. Subsequently, Joseph joined Vickers Petroleum Company in 1969 where as president of Vickers Memphis, he developed and built all the area service stations. Later, he was promoted to regional vice-president and served on the board of directors of Vickers petroleum. Later, he left Vickers and formed McDermott, Inc. a local oil company in Memphis, Tn.

Following this, in 1983 Joseph joined Keller Oil Company in Effingham, Ill. as vice-president and later served as president of the Oil Company from which he retired due to health problems in 1989. In 1991, he and his wife moved to Cape Girardeau, Mo. where they have lived since.

Joseph has been a member of Christ Presbyterian Church in Cape Girardeau where he has served as a ruling elder. Joseph enjoyed gardening, woodworking, barbecuing, and especially spending time with his grandchildren. He was a friend to many and he loved the Lord. Joseph was widely respected by the many people he knew throughout the petroleum industry. Most importantly, he was widely loved and respected by his family and many friends. He will be missed greatly.

The family requests that donations be made to the church building fund for Christ Presbyterian Church at 416 South Kingshighway, Suite #3, Cape Girardeau, 63703. The funeral will be held at Ford and Sons Funeral Home, 1001 N. Mt. Auburn Road, Cape Girardeau on Thursday at 2 p.m. with the Rev. Arthur Hunt officiating. Burial will follow in Cape County Memorial Park Cemetery.

Visitation will be held Wednesday from 5:00 p.m. to 8 p.m.