Joe Innis

Joseph Paul Innis, age 82, of Plano, died peacefully at his home on January 20, surrounded by his family. He was born August 20, 1930, to Oliver Paul and Edith Spencer Innis in the little farming community of Humrich, Illinois. He was married for 61 years to Barbara Naylor.
He graduated from Ridgefarm High School and joined the U.S. Navy soon after graduation. Joe served his country proudly in the Navy aboard the U.S.S. Valley Forge (CV-45) during the Korean War as a Radioman 2nd Class. In the Navy, he made friends he treasured throughout life and had fond memories of their travels together around the world.
Following his Naval service, Joe worked for the Pennsylvania Railroad as a telegraph operator and for the Milwaukee Railroad while earning his bachelors' degree in Electrical Engineering from Rose Polytechnic Institute in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1957.
Joe went to work for Collins Radio in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1959 as a technical writer and project engineer and served Rockwell Collins/Collins Radio for over 30 years. Significant accomplishments include being a member of the communications team responsible for UHF and EHF communications suite utilized in the Gemini and Apollo space programs and as a Program Manager for various DoD communications programs, some of which are still in use today globally. He was most proud of being associated with the first communications from the moon by Apollo 11 and the safe return of Apollo 13. Following his retirement from Rockwell, he worked for Chrysler Technologies in Waco, Texas, for 5 years until his retirement in 1995.
He was very proud of raising his family and seeing them succeed in life and have families of their own, and considered himself blessed to have seven grandchildren, all of whom were home for this past Thanksgiving. He had great memories of serving as an Assistant Scoutmaster and longtime Counselor/Advisor with the Boy Scouts and significantly contributed to the lives and careers of many former Scouts.
Joe is survived by his wife, Barbara; 3 children and 7 grandchildren: son David and his wife Paula, grandson, Scott and his wife, Linda, and grandson, Bryan; son Paul and his wife Rhonda, and granddaughters Jillian and Hailee; daughter Mandy Tschoepe and her husband Ernie, and grandchildren Clara, Katie and Bennett. He is also survived by his sister Sue Terrell and her husband, Dean, of Newnan, Georgia, and a close cousin, Patricia Ostrow of Encinitas, California. He was preceded in death by a grandson, Spencer Tschoepe.
The family would like to thank the staff of Hospice Select for their compassionate and loving care of Joe.
A memorial service for family and friends will be held Saturday, January 26, at 1:00 p.m., at Allen Family Funeral, 2120 W. Spring Creek Pkwy, Plano. A reception will follow the service.
The family suggests memorials to the American Lung Association, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20004, (202) 785-3355, www.lung.org/donate, or to the Boy Scouts of America, Hawkeye Area Council, 660 32nd Avenue SW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52404, (319) 862-0541, www.hawkeyebsa.org/join/donate. Please indicate given in memory of Joseph Innis.