Joe Dale Roybal

Former Durango resident Joe Dale Roybal died on Thursday, June 27, 2013, in Grand Junction. He was 86.

Known as “Dale” to friends and family, he was born to JP and Feliciana Roybal on Sept. 11, 1926, in Durango.

He graduated from Durango High School in 1944 and immediately enlisted in the Navy. Mr. Roybal was assigned to the South Pacific Theater during World War II as a seaman first class and was honorably discharged in 1946.

Mr. Roybal attended Golden Gate College in San Francisco (now Golden Gate University) majoring in business administration. He returned to Durango and worked at the Vanadium Corp. of America.

He married Josephine Martinez, also of Durango, on Feb. 14, 1953.

Mr. Roybal completed his bachelor’s degree in accounting at Fort Lewis College in 1966 and moved his wife and two children to Cortez, where he worked until 1986 as an accounting clerk for Texaco Inc.

Mr. Roybal returned to Durango in 1989, and lived in the Animas Valley, where he was an avid gardener, his family said.

He was a longtime parishioner and active in the senior members association at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Mr. Roybal also was a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

He shared time between Grand Junction and Sun City, Ariz., in his last two years of life.

“Dale was a friend to many and always showed a welcoming approach to all,” his family said.

He is survived by his wife of 60 years, Josephine Roybal of Grand Junction; sons George Roybal of Chandler, Ariz., and Martin Roybal of Grand Junction; brother, Victor Roybal of Denver; sister, Genevieve Quintana of Albuquerque; and several nieces and nephews.

A memorial service in Durango is tentatively scheduled for later in the summer.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to one’s favorite charity or parish.