Oralee Joseph, 82, of La Porte, Ind., passed away peacefully at home surrounded by family and loved ones at 3:44 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2020.
She was born March 16, 1938, in Eastern Kentucky to Kelly and Hazel (Collins) Caudill.
Oralee was an avid quilter, making hundreds of quilts over the years and giving them as treasured gifts to her family. She enjoyed spending time with her family and for years organized a reunion that was attended by family all over the country. She enjoyed gardening, especially her flowers and her vegetable garden; she would spend hours at the table snapping green beans. She enjoyed going to auctions and casinos. She spent many hours sewing and donating masks for COVID relief to the VA Hospital in Washington State and local hospitals. Oralee also liked to camp, fish and go with Jim Baich on his racing expeditions. She worked at InterRoyal, where she met and fell in love with Jim. She also worked at Weil-McLain, Fiberbond, ANCO and several other places before retiring at the age of 62 from Federal Mogul.
She is survived by her husband, James “Jim” Baich; 11 children, John (Teresa) Joseph of Pinellas Park, Fla., Hazel (Rick) Elkins of Michigan City, Ind., Janet (Larry) Hale of La Porte, Michael Joseph of Michigan City, Sandra Joseph (Jeff Cook) of Michigan City, Melvin Joseph of La Porte, Barb (Rodney) Dibble of Lynnwood, Wash., Deborah Faye Joseph Barrios of Houston, Tex., Dennis (Paige) Joseph of Indianapolis, Ind., Darrell (Susan) Joseph of Michigan City, and Robert (Heather) Griffin of Ashland City, Tenn.; grandchildren, Greg, Amber, Matt, Melissa, Michael, Meredith, Charity, Christine, Eric, Charles, Christopher, April, Alex, Jefferey, Jr., Todd, Sara, Ryan, Brittany, Brandon, Brianna, Tyler, Marcus, Allison, Elizabeth, Meredith, Linzee, Autumn, Taylor, Michelle, Miles, and Patrick; 42 great-grandchildren; several great-great-grandchildren; three sisters, Dallie, ClaraAnn and Linda; one brother, Marvin; and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her mother, Hazel Davis, step-father, John Davis, father, Kelly Caudill, son, Kevin Joseph; grandsons, Lucas Lowry and Nathan Cook; three sisters, Emma Sue, Lula May and Patty; and four brothers; Arthur, Carl, James and Lewis.
A funeral celebrating her life will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 29, at Lakeview Funeral Home and Crematory, La Porte, with Pastor Bob Vale officiating. Visitation and viewing will be from noon until the service Sunday at the funeral home. Cremation will take place following the service. Burial will take place at Rolling Prairie Cemetery at a later date. Masks will be required and social distancing will be practiced per local ordinances.
Messages of condolences may be posted below on WNLP as well as at www.LakeviewFHC.com.