Joseph III · Joe and Ruby’s eldest son
The third Joseph, and like his father and grandfather, no middle name.
At a glance
- Born: 30 April 1941, Fresno, California
- Parents: Joseph Sharmer II and Ruby E. Wilson
- Brother and sister: Jay and Laurel; an elder sister was stillborn in 1939
- Occupation: electrician; founder of Replica Industries
- Married: Hannelore Auguste Ahrens, in the United States; later, on 31 December 1990 in Washoe County, Nevada, Connie Sue Faulker
- Son: Joseph Sharmer IV
- Died: 30 November 2017, Dayton, Nevada, aged 76; arrangements by Autumn Funerals & Cremations, Carson City
Life story
As a small boy he sent his mother, in hospital in Fresno, a one-cent postcard from Planada: “Dear Mommie … I love you,” with rows of crosses and circles. He is the tall boy in the family’s home movies from the 1940s.
Joseph Sharmer III was born in Fresno on 30 April 1941, the first son of Joe and Ruby Sharmer, and grew up in Planada, in Merced County, where his mother had been postmaster and his father was a fig grower and later a county supervisor. The 1950 census lists him, aged eight, in Merced County with his parents, his brother Jay and his little sister Laurel. His father died in February 1954, when Joe was twelve.
At eighteen he joined the Army and was stationed in Germany. There he met Hannelore Ahrens of Delmenhorst; they were married after they came to the United States. By 1968 they were living in Santa Cruz, California, where their son, Joseph Sharmer IV, was born that September.
In later years Joe made his home in Nevada. Records place him in Dayton, in Lyon County, by 1988, and on 31 December 1990 he married Connie Sue Faulker in Washoe County. He died in Dayton on 30 November 2017, aged 76.
Work
Joe trained as an electrician and worked for a good many companies over the years. In Santa Cruz he was the lead electrician for a gummy bear candy company. He also started a business of his own, Replica Industries, which made VHS video cassettes.
[More of his story: his Army unit and years, the companies he worked for, and what he loved.]
Timeline
- 1941, April 30. Born in Fresno, California.
- 1950. Living with his parents, Jay and Laurel in Merced County (U.S. census).
- 1954, February 26. His father, Joseph Sharmer II, dies in Santa Cruz.
- About 1959. Joins the Army at eighteen; stationed in Germany, where he meets Hannelore Ahrens. They later marry in the United States.
- 1968, September 10. His son, Joseph Sharmer IV, is born in Santa Cruz.
- 1988. Living in Dayton, Nevada.
- 1990, December 31. Marries Connie Sue Faulker, Washoe County, Nevada.
- 2017, November 30. Dies in Dayton, Nevada, aged 76.
Sources: California Birth Index, 1905–1995 (birth, Fresno, mother’s maiden name Wilson); United States Census, 1950; California Birth Index (Joseph Sharmer IV, Santa Cruz, 1968); United States Residence Database (Dayton, Lyon County, Nevada, 1988), both on FamilySearch; Nevada Marriage Index, 1956–2005 (marriage to Connie Sue Faulker, registered in Reno, 7 January 1991); death notice, Nevada Appeal, 5 December 2017.
Photos
Letters, records & stories
- Dear Mommie, his postcard to Ruby
- The Sharmer Children in Planada (home movies)
- You Are Both Worth More Than All the Money in the World, Joe’s letter to Ruby the week he was born
- “We Treat, No Tricks!” and A Visit to Aunt Larry
Family
- Father: Joseph Sharmer II
- Mother: Ruby E. Wilson Sharmer
- First wife: Hannelore Auguste Sharmer (née Ahrens)
- Second wife: Connie Sue Sharmer (née Faulker, as spelled in the Nevada marriage index)
- Son: Joseph Sharmer IV
- Granddaughters: Katie, Rosie and Christa
Still to find
- Places he lived: the records place him in Dayton, Nevada, in 1988
- Date and place of his marriage to Hannelore (in the United States)
- His Army service: years and unit (from his service file at the National Archives)
