James E. Josendale ( December 8,1917 – September 26, 1993 ) was dedicated to his community and country, serving in positions under three presidents. He began this path as a 1942 graduate of the U. S. Military Academy of West Point, New York. During World War ll, he served with the U.S. Army in England in the Intelligence Section of the office of Strategic Services. In 1942 he married Dorothy Mae Barclay, and after the war he was employed at Wire Rope Corporation of America and was instrumental in moving their headquarter to St. Joseph. He was employed there for 46 years, staying on as Chairman of Board until 1992. The couple raised their four sons in St. Joseph. During this time he was involved in many civic activities and served on several boards. He was also Chairman of the Kansas City Chapter of the Young Presidents Organization; a past president of the World Business Council; the Chief Executive’s Forum; and the Board of the Associates of Graduates of West Point and a member of the Association of the U. S. Army and National Defense Agency. In 1966 he was given the honor to serve as the king for the Bards of Bohemia Ball during the Mardi Gras in New Orleans!
Josendale was active in Republican politics; local, state and the national level and was a member of the Senatorial Inner Circle.
He was a member of a five man team sent to Latin America in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy to explain the “ Alliance of Progress” program, and a member of a Defense Supply Advisory group in Philadelphia for navel supply under President Lyndon Johnson, (1965-66.)
On leave of absence from Wire Rope in 1969 for 2 1/2 years, he was deputy assistant postmaster general for operations under President Nixon. He helped chart the postal department changeover in the U.S. Postal Service. Upon leaving in August 1971, he was awarded the Distinguished Public Service Award. He was also a member of the White House Conference International Development in 1965 under Johnson and attended the president’s conference on “The Industrial World in 1990” under Nixon in 1972.
Involved in many historical National and International developments of the time, Josendale was clearly in service to the country for most of his lifetime. St. Joseph remained his home throughout the years.
