On the recordJuly 8, 2013
on Monday, July 1, 2013, Joseph C. McQuaid was laid to rest, with full military honors, in the Fort Logan National Cemetery in Denver, CO. A proud World War II veteran, Joseph ``Big Joe'' McQuaid will rest beside his brother John ``Hootcher'' McQuaid, also a World War II veteran. Joe was one of the most unique, memorable persons I have known in my lifetime. He was also my brother-in-law. Joe was born on March 16, 1919 in the family farmhouse near Stuart, IA. A proud Irishman, Joe always noted that his birthday was one day before St. Patrick's Day. Joe, his two brothers, and sister were born and raised in a loving, but very poor, family. His father ``Willie'' was a self-taught, accomplished musician, playing the fiddle and piano in local bands around Iowa. From an early age, Joe was known as ``Big Joe'' because he was a big bear of a man, standing 6 feet 4 inches and tipping the scale around 240 pounds, all muscle and bone. He used to show off his strength by tearing phonebooks and decks of cards in half as if they were pieces of paper. This always impressed a lot of young kids. Joe also liked to balance heavy, unwieldy objects, such as lawnmowers, on his chin. It wasn't only heavy objects he could balance. He is the only person I have ever seen who could balance a straw broom on his nose. He could entertain a group of kids for hours by doing his balancing tricks.…
