Lt. Col. Joseph Dion, 91

These days the phrase "Mid-Century Modern" has a good deal of currency. For many people, it neatly encapsulates the "Mad Men" era: Post-war boom times, expanding suburbs, beat poets, be-bop, rock 'n' roll, James Dean, Stan Kenton, Stan Freberg, Eames chairs, Mad Magazine and architecture inspired by Mies van der Rohe.

As a witness to changing world, Joseph P. Dion Jr. was a mid-century modern. Born in 1924, the only son of Joseph Pierre Dion and Magdeline Reidel. He died at home of natural causes on Aug. 24, 2015, age 91.

Joe Dion Sr. was in the business of building logging mills in the Pacific Northwest. He settled his family in Emmett, Idaho, in 1917; many of the homes he and crew built for the mill's employees still stand, and Dion Street can still be found. Shortly after the country's fortunes changed in 1929, he withdrew from the hard work and many months away from his family and took to selling furniture.

At an early age, Joe became enamored of flying airplanes (he was just 3 when Charles Lindbergh made his solo trans-Atlantic flight). His mother kept a drawing he'd made in elementary school: A biplane in profile; the caption announcing his intention to "fly plains."

Inspired by the swing jazz of the 1930s and '40s, Joe learned to play the drums while still in high school. He was good, but was always self-deprecating about this talent; he liked to say, "a drummer is just a guy who hangs around with musicians."

After completing his bachelor's degree at the University of Idaho (where he pledged Sigma Chi), he joined the service and rose through the Air Force's ranks for 23 years before retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel in 1970. He was prevented from realizing his dream of flying by the Air Force's strict vision requirements. As a result, he "flew a desk," specializing as a personnel officer. His tours of duty had him crisscross the United States, and he had postings in the Philippines and Thailand. In the early 1950s, he was stationed at Edwards Air Force Base when the "Right Stuff" crowd was busy demolishing the sound barrier, and counted renowned pilot Chuck Yeager among his acquaintances.

Joe met Mary Lou Snook in 1946 at the University of Idaho. The couple formed a dance band and played at local clubs and fraternity parties. They married in August 1947. Mary Lou gave birth to Christy Lea in, 1949, and Jonathan Jay in 1950. Joe and Mary Lou separated and divorced soon after that, but remarried in August 1953. Four more children were born to them, beginning with Michael Joseph in 1957, Steven Gregory in 1959, Patricia Louise in 1961 and Joseph P. the third in 1963.

Joe and Mary Lou made sure their children never lacked for intellectual stimulation. The bookshelves groaned under the weight of the World Book Encyclopedia, The How & Why Library, the Harvard Classics, and each week a fresh crop of magazines would arrive: Time, Life, Look. In addition to literature, Joe's wry sense of humor was in evidence too: The zany wartime novels of Max Shulman were well-represented, as was Jack Douglas. The family record collection featured comedy albums by Tom Lehrer, Shelley Berman, early Bill Cosby and Mort Sahl.

Upon retiring, Joe resettled his family in Emmett, buying a house a few blocks from his mother, who was in frail health. He looked after her until she died in 1983.

He passed his commercial pilot's exam and was able to instruct other fledgling pilots. He took up running as a fitness regimen, often putting in many miles at the nearby high school track before most people were even awake. He and Mary Lou performed as a duo for a year or so at G-J's lounge in the lower level of the Idanha Building in downtown Boise.

A man ahead of his time, Joe Dion was all about D.I.Y. decades before it was a thing. The Volvo station wagon he bought in 1964 didn't quite have enough seats for six children. He got the plans and materials to build an upholstered bench seat for the cargo area. It was the same with the custom speaker enclosure he built to enhance the family's hi-fi listening pleasure. He later tried his hand at assembling a Heathkit stereo tuner (though it must be said, the bench and the speaker cabinet projects were rather more successful).

Once their children had left home, Joe and Mary Lou relocated to Coeur d'Alene, which they called home beginning in 1989. Before long, most of their children had gravitated to the area as well; Joe's home in his final years became the center of many gatherings for children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and friends from the community.

Joe is survived by his wife; children; grandchildren Lina Dion, Jake Freeman, Piper Freeman-Williams, Jack Dion, Katherine Dion and Grace Dion; and great-grandchildren Isaiah Jones and Bearett Freeman.

The funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 29, 2015, at St. Thomas Catholic Church in Coeur d'Alene. A rosary will precede the funeral beginning at 9:30 a.m. at the church. Burial with military honors will be held at 2 p.m. at Greenwood Cemetery in Spirit Lake, Idaho. Yates Funeral Home, Coeur d'Alene, is in care of the arrangements. The family prefers memorial contributions to St. Vincent de Paul, 201 E. Harrison, Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814. You may visit Joe's online memorial and sign his guest book at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.