After graduating from university, Joe worked for a transit company in Washington before joining the military and traveling the world.  In 1946, Joe returned from his service and opened an oil and gas business in Ketchum, where he became friends with Ernest Hemingway.  He married Flora Sabala in 1946, and the couple raised three children.

Today, Joe enjoys participating in local Basque culture.  He has visited the Basque Country twice, and feels a great connection to his roots there.  Joe hopes to continue traveling, and identifies himself as much as a Basque as an American.