Joel David McNee, 84

Joel David McNee passed away at the age of 84 on Monday, Oct. 28, 2024, in Post Falls, Idaho, just six months after losing his dear wife of 58 years, Barbara. Admired and beloved for his artistic eye and skilled photography and his playful sense of humor, he is survived by his sons, Scott and Malcolm, his daughters-in-law, Holly and Erotides, and his grandchildren, Aaron, Caroline and Derek. 

Joel was born in 1940 in Merced, Calif., to Malcolm Duncan McNee and Virginia Leonard McNee. He spent most of his childhood in the Bay Area, apart from two years in Las Vegas, where his father was stationed as an Army Air Corp gunnery instructor and his mother worked in a casino. His father was later the service manager for San Jose British Cars, where Joel worked as a lot boy and developed a love for the exotic cars — Jaguars, MGs and Austins — in which he and his father would commute to work. He graduated in 1958 from Hillsdale High School, enlisted in the Navy, was assigned to Airman Fundamental School in Norman, Okla., and had technical training in Memphis, Tenn. After finishing training as an aviation fire control technician, he was assigned in 1960 to Oak Harbor Naval Station in Washington State. He served on board the carrier USS Constellation during an operational readiness cruise in the Caribbean. He achieved the rank of 2nd Class Petty Officer before discharge in 1962. Moving back to the Bay Area, he worked for three years as a security documents control officer for Varian Associates, one of the first tech companies established in Silicon Valley. 

In 1965, he married Barbara White in Squaw Valley. Their connection dates back to when they were playmates at the age of 5, when Joel's grandmother lived next to Barbara's family in San Mateo. Her family moved to a new neighborhood, and they lost touch until Joel, following his Navy service, visited his grandmother and asked after Barbara. By coincidence, they were both living in Santa Clara. Their first date was a drive over the Santa Cruz mountains, the beginning of a lifelong love of taking scenic drives together. After marrying, they lived in Reno for two years, where Joel took classes at the University of Nevada and sold men’s suits at Sears and Barbara taught kindergarten. 

In Reno, Joel began more seriously pursuing photography, a hobby he picked up when his grandmother gave him his first camera, an Ansco Panda, for his 7th birthday. He bought his first Hasselblad camera in a Reno pawn shop and they then moved to Santa Barbara, where Joel attended Brooks Institute of Photography. They started a family, with Scott born in 1968 and Malcolm in 1971, and they began a successful wedding and portrait photography studio together. Some of his portraits and photos of local events and landmarks are now included in the Santa Barbara Historical Museum archive. 

In 1980, seeking adventure and a different lifestyle, Joel moved with his family to Salmon, Idaho, where he and Barbara opened a new business, Salmon River Photo Emporium, which included wedding and portrait photography and a camera store. They operated this business for 27 years, and Joel photographed generations of Salmon residents and events — school portraits, football games, rodeos, proms, parades, 4-H sales, graduations — along with the Rocky Mountain landscapes and wildlife that he loved to discover on long, weekend drives. Joel and Barbara closed the business in 2007 and moved to Hayden, Idaho, to be close to their son, Scott, and his family. Joel continued to take many pictures, and with Barbara he operated a business selling prints of his wildlife and scenic photographs. For many seasons, they had a weekly booth at the Kootenai County Farmers' Market, where they sold cards and matted and framed prints that Barbara put together from an archive of Joel's beautiful photos. 

Joel, over his lifetime, had many interests and talents. He loved animals and adopted countless cats and dogs, including his last cat, his beloved Felix. He even boasted of having adopted a de-scented pet skunk when he was in the Navy. He enjoyed hunting for treasures in antique and pawnshops and was a tireless collector — of cameras (he developed a collection of thousands of antique cameras), knives, guns, belt buckles and hats, among many other things — often horse-trading photography services in exchange for the next item for his collection. He loved riding motorcycles and, after many Kawasakis and Yamahas, was eventually the proud owner of a Harley, which he and Barbara took for weekend rides around Lemhi County and over Lost Trail Pass into Montana. He enjoyed fishing, hunting, pool, and darts. He had the gift of gab, could seemingly strike up a conversation with anyone, and loved to tell and hear jokes (the bluer, the better). 

In 2019, Joel and Barbara moved to the Grove at Orchard Ridge, a retirement community in Coeur d'Alene and in 2023, they moved to the Idaho Veterans Home, a beautiful new skilled nursing facility in Post Falls, where they both received compassionate care, for which their family is enormously grateful.

Service will be held at a later date.

Visit Joel's memorial and sign his online guestbook at www.englishfuneralchapel.com.