Bill Joseph, "Catholic" Artist
Bill Schenley
http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,1413,36~11777~1847756,00.html
Artist Bill Joseph "had a piece of half the Catholic
churches in the Denver area,' said longtime friend, Cabell
Childress. "There was no better 20th-century artist in
Denver than Bill.'
Joseph, who died Dec. 15 at age 77, made dozens of religious
statues, crucifixes, candleholders and stained glass, mostly
for Catholic churches.
He worked in bronze, glass, terra cotta, aluminum - whatever
was called for.
Joseph taught at Loretto Heights College (now Teikyo Loretto
Heights College) for 38 years. He taught sculpture,
painting, art history, stained glass and drawing. He liked
sculpture best, said his wife, Barbara Joseph.
But, in his two home studios, each larger than a double-car
garage, he did his own art, including drawings and oil
paintings. Some were far from the religious work that was
placed in churches.
He painted historic scenes, such as ones involving the boat
people from Vietnam. When called on, he designed and
decorated the bulletin board for his daughter Theresa Lynn
Joseph Volz's kindergarten classroom.
His church art work included a bronze statue at Sacred Heart
Catholic Church in Boulder, a bronze crucifix at Loretto
Heights, a bronze angel at St. Frances Church in Holly, two
bronze saints at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Greeley and a
Piet at Christ the King Catholic Church in Evergreen.
"There's never been a person as Catholic as Bill,' his wife
said. "He knew the Bible backwards and forwards and knelt
down for prayer every night of his life.'
Joseph also did the stainless steel statue of Columbus in
Civic Center, a statue at the Denver Botanic Gardens and a
fountain at 18th and Broadway.
Joseph's talents went beyond art. He had been an
optometrist's assistant and could repair plumbing, fix
electrical problems or make tile-top tables.
But he drew the line at gardening. "I hate dirt,' he said,
after his wife finally got a shovel in his hand.
William Joseph was born Jan. 16, 1926, in Denver's Park Hill
neighborhood. He graduated from Regis High School and earned
bachelor's and master's degrees in fine arts from the
University of Denver.
His parents, William Joseph Sr. and Carolyn Joseph, were
reared near Iowa City, Iowa, as were Barbara Joseph's
parents, Art and Theresa Michael. The two fathers had known
each other since school days and entered the military at the
same time. But they lost touch.
Eventually, both couples moved to the Park Hill
neighborhood. One day they ran into each other at a Mass at
Blessed Sacrament Church in Park Hill, where they renewed
their friendship.
Barbara Michael, a high school student, was there that day.
William Joseph Jr. was away at college.
Nevertheless, in a few days, he called her and asked her out
for New Year's Eve.
"I think his dad probably said, 'Why don't you call that
little Michael girl," Barbara Joseph said, laughing about it
years later.
They hit it off and were married Sept. 30, 1950.
In addition to his wife and daughter, he is survived by two
sons, Timothy Joseph, who has an art foundry in Fort
Collins, and Patrick Joseph, who has a fine- arts foundry in
Littleton; nine grandchildren; and a great-grandchild.