Obituary of Joseph Howard Odell

Joseph Howard Odell

Joseph was born on March 22, 1981 to Mary Katherine Phipps Odell and John Frederick Odell in San Diego, California. His siblings were Jean Marie Odell, 10 years old and John Frederick Odell Jr. 8 yrs. old  He arrived in less than an hour after his parents arrived at the hospital. He was baptized at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church by Fr. Kirk. He was blessed to have Judy and Joe Lemm as his Godparents.

An active baby he was walking by the time he was nine months. When he was born, his mom and dad ran Odell's Deli at 8280 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.  He was part of weekly family camping adventures from the time he was born to Ma Tar Awa, Pio Pico, Butterfield Ranch, Anza Borrego, and others. Camping every weekend for seven years. When he was five, and John was 13, they competed in bmx bike racing, and all three siblings competed in swimming for the National City swim club.

When he was nine, he lost his dad who lost a battle with cancer. In an effort to fill the void, he began weekly drum lessons and karate lessons, and played golf with his mom. He was soon competing in karate and golf, and gaining in his love of percussion. He entered St. Vincent's school in second grade and was blessed to have Sr. Mary Lou. It was there that he formed many lasting friendships and competed in soccer, flag football, and basketball. After graduating from St. Vincent's he began High school at Uni, and ended up graduating from Futures High school.

He briefly attended classes at Mesa college. He moved to Montana where he lived with his brother John and his family. He worked in construction, then decided to join the navy. While in the navy his battle with alcoholism which began in Jr.high continued...eventually leading to an early discharge from the service. Returning to San Diego he worked at a variety of jobs before he went to the Electricians Union training program...a five year program. He graduated in 2012. By the time he graduated he was married to Christina Larivierre, and had his first son Bradley.
Two and a half years later his son Sean was born.

Although his marriage ended in a divorce, he maintained contact with Christina and his boys. He shared his love of camping, percussion, golf, target shooting,  the beach, hiking, art and movies with his boys. Through all his years since junior high he was caught in the snare of addictions, occasionally having successful sobriety for a year or more, only to slide back into the grasp of the disease. On September 9. 2019 he lost the fight, taking his own life. He is survived by his mother, his sons, former spouse, and many cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends. His passing leaves an unfillable void for many.