Joseph Charles Ullman was born on March 12, 1929, in Bluffton, Indiana, to Verdi Decker Ullman and Howard Marsh Ullman, Sr. He worked as a traveling salesman in his father’s factory, The Red Cross Mfg. Co., between the ages of 14-32.
In 1962 he received his MBA and in 1965 his Ph.D., both from the University of Chicago. After finally graduating, he joined the faculty of the Krannert Graduate School of Business at Purdue University as a Professor of Industrial Administration. Named a Brookings Institute Fellow in 1969, he moved his family to Washington DC for one year. He was hired in 1981 by the University of South Carolina and became the founding director for the Riegel and Emory Center for Human Resources Research. Over his academic career he wrote three scholarly books and published over forty articles; he finally retired completely in 2007. In 1953 he married Patricia Bickers and had two children: Bethani and Christian. After a divorce in 1961 where he retained custody of his two children, he married Jackie Hair Krall in l966 and helped raise her three children: Scott Krall, Karen Bays, and Kathy Fletcher. Joe and Jackie were married for 49 years before he was widowed and moved to Lost Lake Woods in Lincoln, Michigan, in 2015, where he became a member of the Spruce Presbyterian Church. He met his third wife Marjorie Van Handel over the bridge table on their mutually avowed last cruise, and they were married in 2019.
He was a passionate traveler, and visited all 50 states and all seven continents, with his favorite countries being South Africa and China. He is survived by his wife Margie; by his two children Beth and Chris; his three stepchildren Scott, Karen, and Kathy; by two nephews Kurt and Daniel Ullman; by two nieces Andrea Janke and Ellen Harris; by two step-grandchildren Dana Fletcher and Tana Koelzer; by his sister-in-law Lois Harter; by his daughter-in-law Jami Wallace; and by a multitude of progeny.
He lived and full and happy life, and is much missed.
2 Responses
Joe was a joy to spend time with. I loved hearing about his travels and about the amazing way he met Margie on their “final cruise” towards the latter part of his life. Playing scrabble and then rummikub was great fun. His amazing brain and determination were evident right up to his passing. I will miss his witty little remarks, smile and sense of humor. He certainly is missed.
Such an interesting life. We are grateful that Joe became a part of our lives, however briefly.