Joseph T. Pearson Jr.

December 7, 1933 - January 9, 2021

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Soller-Baker Funeral Homes & Crematory, West Lafayette Chapel

1184 Sagamore Pkwy W.

West Lafayette, IN 47906

Celebration of life at a later date.

Joseph T. Pearson Jr

West Lafayette – Joseph (Joe) T. Pearson Jr, 87, of West Lafayette, Indiana, passed away on Saturday, January 9, 2021.

Joe was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on December 7, 1933. He was the oldest of the three children of Joe Sr. and Verna Pearson. Joe grew up in New Bern, North Carolina where he graduated from New Bern High School in 1952. Joe graduated from NC State University with BS and MS degrees in Mechanical Engineering. Upon graduation Joe received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from The State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1966. Joe’s honorary organizations included Pi Tau Sigma, Theta Tau, Phi Kappa Phi and Sigma Xi. He was a member of The American Society of Mechanical Engineers and The American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers.

Joe married the love of his life, Christine Temple Daniel, in New Bern, North Carolina on June 29, 1956. They have three children, Page Pearson Davies, Grace Pearson O’Brien and Joseph Tatem (Tate) Pearson III.

Joe became a member of the faculty of the School of Mechanical Engineering at Purdue University in 1967. He taught Thermodynamics, Fluid Mechanics and Heat and Mass Transfer. He holds 2 patents, 4 copyrights, and was awarded the Robert C. Memorial Award for Outstanding Promotion of the Conservation Effort presented by the Governor of Indian, Robert D. Orr. For designing the Griffin I energy efficient home. Joe worked at the Herrick Laboratories for many years.

Joe retired from Purdue in 2001 after 34 years of devoted service. His main activities at Purdue were teaching of undergraduate and graduate courses and advisor to Theta Tau · Purdue’s First and Foremost Fraternity for Engineers. Joe coordinated many golf tournaments for the Purdue Staff Golf League and loved playing the Kampen Course as often as possible. He also loved taking Temple on trips all over the world looking for birds to add to her life list.

During the summers of 1969, 70 and 71 Joe worked at the Union Carbide Corporation Nuclear Division Y-12 Plant in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. During these summers, the family enjoyed spending weekend’s water skiing behind their motor boat, Recess.

Joe received a Fulbright Scholarship to spend a year working at the Technische Universität Darmstadt, Germany in 1973. He bought a VW van and the family visited 17 countries during that wonderful year.

Joe is survived by his two sisters, Carol (Gary) Simes of Winston Salem, NC and Rosalyn (Bruce) Wetzel of Stuarts Draft, Virginia, three children, Page (John) Davies of Canonsburg, PA, Grace (Pat) O’Brien of Brookfield, WI and Tate (Kristi) Pearson of Greenville, SC, 7 grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Joe’s Life will be held at a later date. Due to COVID-19, there will be no visitation.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Health Hut Ministry of The Gathering. 522 Columbia Street, Lafayette, IN 47901

Soller-Baker Funeral Homes, Inc.

Temple D Pearson

Anne Custer

Mary Nelson

Louis Frankel

Brett Groves

Scott Keller

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Soller-Baker Funeral Homes & Crematory, West Lafayette Chapel

1184 Sagamore Pkwy W.

West Lafayette, IN 47906

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Joseph T. Pearson Jr West Lafayette – Joseph (Joe) T. Pearson Jr, 87, of West Lafayette, Indiana, passed away on Saturday, January 9, 2021. Joe was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on December 7, 1933. He was the oldest of the three children of Joe Sr. and Verna Pearson. Joe grew up in New Bern, NorthContinue Reading

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My sincere condolences to Joe's family. Joe was a great guy, smart investor, and a good friend.

This is your former Port Jefferson neighbor Paul and Dorothy Anderson. We just saw that Joe has passed away. So sorry to hear that. We remember some good days in Port Jefferson, water skiing, fishing, spear fishing and just picnicking on that little strand of sand in the harbor. We are in Huntington Beach, Ca now. We have 4 Grandchildren that live not too far away. Scott, Cindy and Kari are all in the area also, so our family is close by. sdpaul9@gmail.com

I always loved seeing Joe interact with our nursing students. He would question them and often share his Purdue history with them. We will miss him so very much! Sending my love to heaven for this GREAT guy!

Oh Joe, I will miss your big smile and hug, especially when you and Temple and I got together to watch the debates! Kindred spirits :-) The "funnest" recollection, which I have shared many times with friends, is this: Joe drove to the Purdue Fieldhouse to do his routine walking workout. Living so close, the preferred to shower back at home. So he left the fieldhouse in his old worn workout clothes and as he went by the back of his car - whoa!! Someone had put a BUSH FOR PRESIDENT sticker on this bumper! He had nothing with him but his car keys - kneeling down, he tried to peel, and then to scratch the sticker off by hand, Having no luck, he decided he might try his keys but realized he might scratch up the bumper. It was then that, for some reason, Joe realized it WASN'T HIS CAR ! When I need a laugh, I conjure up that mental image of you, Joe. Bless - I will miss you. Love, Lorraine
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Our sincere condolence to Prof. Joe Pearson's family. Joe had already retired when I started at Purdue, but he kindly joined us in a few Hawkins Lectures and other events in recent years. We greatly enjoyed his kindness and wisdom. He will be dearly missed.

Peace of mind is a call away. We’re here when you need us most.

Joe was my husband, father of our childred, a great dad and faithful friend. I miss him so very much.

Temple and family, so sorry to hear about Joe's death. Temple, let me know if there's anything I can do to help you, or if you just need to take a walk with someone. Love and air hugs to you all. God enfolds you with His love.

Sending our sympathy and love to Temple and the entire family. What a great loss for all of you. Praying that all of the wonderful memories you have will comfort you as you grieve.

Sorry to hear about the death of Joe. We had a good time at New Bern High School Class of 1952 My prayers are with you. God Bless

I have fond memories of Joe from our New Bern High School days. Thinking of you Temple and your family during this difficult time.

Temple - please accept my deepest sympathy for your loss. I admired Joe greatly. I also had a recent loss in that my brother, Julian Worth Dees, who was in the class of 1951, died on Nov. 30th. It's sad when you're the last one left in your immediate family.

So sorry to hear of Joe's passing. We were close friends growing up around the corner and Temple down the street, all of us graduating from NBHS in 1952. Hang in there Temp, I know you will come out on top. Alfred

I was a graduate student at the Heat Transfer Laboratory in the 1990s and had multiple opportunities to interact with Joe and the rest of the faculty during those days. It was such a wonderful time. While there were some good conversations about thermal sciences, I have a personal story to share: Joe was adamant to teach me how to play golf. We would go to the Purdue Golf course together with his clubs and he would teach me every aspect of the game. While he was diligent, it was clear that I did not have the skills necessary to play the game. He never gave up: as recently as September 2019 he was pushing me to buy clubs. Professionally, while working on energy efficient buildings in the national laboratory there were many times when people approached me to talk about Griffin I, the net zero energy home project that he led at Purdue. Temple: we are keeping you your family in our thoughts.

So sorry Temple. I have so enjoyed all the stories you and Joe have shared with me the past 28 years. We are here if you need anything. Glad you have Aven!

Cigdem and I join so, so many in conveying our deepest condolences on your loss. I first met Joe about 40 years at the Winter ASHRAE Meeting in Chicago. From that very first time, it was clear that Joe was the epitome of an outstanding university professor, just by observing his kindness, his empathy and a truly strong focus on building a community of young Purdue engineers. Cigdem and John Sheffield

I was a colleague of Joe's in the 80's and 90's. We worked together on a project to study the comfort of car passengers in cold-weather driving conditions. We setup a complete test facility in which a car could be driven on a dynamometer and the whole chamber could be cooled to -30 degrees F. Joe was the leader of the project. He spearheaded all aspects of the construction of the facility and even cast the concrete floor himself! He was a great engineer, a wonderful human being, and a good friend.

Temple and family, so very sorry for your loss. I send love and prayers.

Oh Temple, So very sorry to hear about Joe. Please know that Carl and I are thinking of you and the rest of your family during this sorrowful time. Peace grant to him Oh Lord and perpetual light shine upon him. Carl and Joan Berryman

So very sorry for your loss. Joe was such a kind man and I know his memory will live on as so many loved him. Keeping you in my prayers.

We are very sorry to hear about your loss. You are all in our thoughts! Love, The Frankels ❤️

Peace of mind is a call away. We’re here when you need us most.

As a student and TAP alum from decades ago I express my sympathy for the loss of this kind and patient man.

Joe was not only a colleague, but a dear friend. He was blessed with a most gracious personality and spent most of his life serving Purdue's students. He was a truly outstanding citizen of the Purdue family!

What a wonderful tribute to a loving and accomplished man ❤️

Dear Temple and family, We send our sincere sympathy and share your sadness at the passing of your beloved Joe. The times we spent with Joe during the many "tailgates" he attended are priceless. He was a brilliant man, a real Boilermaker fan and fun to be with. We enjoyed being in his company and he will be missed. May he Rest in Peace and God Bless you.

We are so very sorry for your loss of your JOE. We were blessed to know him, camp with him, hang out with him and watch him burst with pride when talking about all of you. Our world has lost a SUPER MAN; Heaven has gained a SUPER ANGEL!! We imagine Joe and The Donald have already played a few rounds of golf! We will miss your GENTLE MAN, Your Husband, Dad, Grandpa, Friend, Teacher, Mentor.....you all are in our thoughts and prayers. We LOVE YOU. Mike and Colleen

I have been playing gold with Joe for many years in the Purdue Staff league. He was truly a joy to be around. I will miss seeing him.

I absolutely loved playing golf with you Joe. My condolences to Joe's family and friends, I'm sure our Lord is happy to have Joe come home. Brett

Your family has my most heartfelt condolences on the passing of your Dad/Husband. You don't know me, but I had the utmost pleasure of helping care for Joe on the day before his passing. It was one of the best 12 hour shifts I've spent with a patient. We spent time talking about family, his work and watching CNN (because the TV didn't get MSNBC). He shared many stories of his beloved Temple and all of his children. I could tell he was so very proud of all of you! He told me about raising Easter rabbits, bird watching, living in New Bern and started a story about squirrels, but we were interrupted by the doctors (darn it!). I can see, now, why he was such a big Purdue fan. He told me he wouldn't hold it against me because I graduated from IU. He said, "That's a good school too". I feel God placed me there with Joe on purpose. I lost my step father (who I was very close to) on Dec.21st and Joe reminded me of him so very much! I wanted you to know he had some one there to hold his hand for the many labs and tests he had that day. He was a great hand holder and each time I was grateful because I wasn't able to do that in the final days in my dad's life. This virus steals so much more than our health... You all were continually in his thoughts and memories that day and I was so blessed to be there. I will be praying for your family in the coming days as you move through this difficult time. It was my honor to meet Joe. I will never forget him.

Hugs to team Pearson, Joe was loved and will be missed.

Please accept our deepest condolences for your family's loss.