Joseph Theodore Di Bene, passed away on May 3, 2021 after a brief illness at the age of 92. He lived at The Colonial Inn in Olympia for the past 10 years.
Joe was born in Fortuna, California on February 10, 1929 and was a graduate of San Jose State University where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Engineering. Joe was predeceased by his wife of 56 years, Frances Beverly Di Bene, eldest child, Jacqueline Diane Di Bene and son-in-law Steven Henry Gorger. Joe is survived by four of his children, Julie Marie Di Bene, Dr. Joseph Theodore Di Bene II, Ph.D, Jamie Di Bene-Gorger and Jeanine Maurine Di Bene. He is remembered by five cherished grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his daughter-in-law Cindy Di Bene, former son-in-law Brian Patrick Davis and his closest friends of more than 70 years, Paul Max Bryant and Karen Jan Bryant.
Joe was a husband, beloved father, grandfather, great grandfather, pilot, windsurfer, lifelong kite enthusiast and builder, motorcyclist, water skier, scuba diver, chess club president, president and founder of multiple international manufacturing centers employing up to 4,000 people. An international businessman, he advised heads of foreign governments and major corporations.
Joe served with honor in the Navy with the rank of Electronics Technician Petty Officer First Class during the Korean War. An adventurer with a spirit and love for travel his entire life, he took his growing family to live in Hong Kong during the 1960s where, along with his wife and then three small children, became ex-patriots and where his career first thrived on an international level. Joe would go on to set up and run international manufacturing centers in Barbados, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Mexico, Portugal, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, and more, providing jobs and growth to locations that had heretofore been economically depressed. He made a difference in the lives of thousands worldwide. Joe would go on to lend his expertise to the United States government, providing his unique experience and expertise on delicate business investments in countries such as Barbados and Jamaica during politically fraught periods.
A genuine Renaissance man of his time, Joe was also an accomplished writer and published author. He wrote the book on how to be an effective international manager/executive, Kicking the Hell out of Mice While Elephants are Waltzing Out The Back Door. Joe also published numerous articles about senior living in regional newspapers and magazines, as well as fictional stories and poems, often based loosely on his adventures overseas.
He held 14 patents and was a recipient of the Distinguished Medal of Honor, Conduct Medal PKT (Pingat Kelakuan Terpuji) from the Penang State Government, Malaysia. During his remarkable life, he raised a dozen dogs and five children all while working in 20 different countries and living in no less than nine.
