Joseph F. (Joe) Krsak was born to Elena and Joseph Krsak on May 19, 1911, in Tyler, Wash., and died on Aug. 12, 2009. The oldest of seven children, he helped to care for his younger brothers and sisters on the dairy farm in Eastern Washington and helped to support the family by taking employment in California during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

On September 5, 1947, Mr. Krsak married Aida. The couple worked the family farm for four or five years before settling in Managua, Nicaragua, where Mr. Krsak ran a mill, processing food for cattle and chickens, and also did consulting on agricultural subjects. Aida died in 1968. On Nov. 27, 1975, Mr. Krsak married Lolie. The couple remained in Nicaragua until 1980. Brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews who visited Mr. Krsak in the 1960s and ’70s were impressed that he was part of a small middle class. In this Third World country, he had friends and associates from all walks of life. Rich and poor appreciated the services and enjoyed the congeniality of this very caring man.

Mr. and Mrs. Krsak returned to the United States from Nicaragua in 1980 and settled in Snoqualmie, Wash. Lolie died in 1982. Mr. Krsak was also preceded in death by his parents; brother, Henry; and sister, Leona.

Mr. Krsak, with “nine lives,” proved wrong the midwife who predicted that this small baby would not last a year; he nearly drowned in the family well, survived an accidental shooting, was undeterred when he rolled a Model T and cut the artery on his wrist, was unfazed by a Nicaraguan train crashing into him while he was trying to get his car off the tracks, and survived bullets into his home during the 1980 revolution in Nicaragua.

Mr. Krsak was attentive to his many nieces and nephews. At their graduations, birthdays and other family celebrations, he could be counted on to regale them with stories of his adventures.

In 1999, a series of strokes left Mr. Krsak paralyzed on his right side and unable to speak. His brother, George, and family, and sister Ellen Johnson and family cared for him until he began residence at the Mercer Island Care and Rehabilitation Center. He remained there for 10 years and served as vice president of the Resident Council in 2003-2004. Throughout his decade at MICR, Mr. Krsak attended mass at St. Monica weekly with his brother, George, and participated in all the activities that he could, which included weekly rosary, nondenominational church service, bowling, BINGO, lunches and dinners out. This gentle man of quiet determination made many friends there.

Mr. Krsak is survived by his brother, George; sisters, Maryanne Anthony, Nicky McVeigh and Ellen Johnson; and a bevy of nieces and nephews spanning three generations, who say thank you to Brother/Uncle Joe for nearly a century of sharing his love with them.