Joe was born on April 30, 1945, in Muskegon, the son of Gerrit and Blanche (Johnson) DeKoning.

He graduated from West Michigan Christian High School and went on to attend Calvin College. Joe proudly served his country in the United States Air Force for three years, spending part of that time in Vietnam. Following his military service, he completed his degree in Political Science at Grand Valley State College in 1975.

Joe began his professional career working in labor relations for the City of Grand Rapids, later continuing similar work in Tallahassee and Miami. In 1978, he met the love of his life, Katherine Strong. They were married on September 11, 1979, in Interlaken, Switzerland — a place that would always hold special meaning for them.

In 1980, Joe and Kate returned to Michigan and settled in Leelanau County. Joe worked for The Homestead and later as Executive Director for Bay Area Transit Authority (BATA) before retiring in 2008. After his retirement he became the Michigan Public Transit Association’s Training Coordinator, where he worked closely with transit professionals statewide for more than 16 years. He also was deeply involved with the Michigan Transit Pool, helping to advance safety and stability for public transit providers and, with the Ohio Risk Pool, forming TransitRe, a member owned reinsurance captive.

Joe had an extraordinary love of travel and exploration. He could read maps the way others read books and was fascinated by how highways evolved over time. He traveled to every continent except Antarctica, with Norway — where his cousins lived — and Switzerland among his favorite destinations. He especially loved traveling by train and enjoyed studying historic rail lines and schedules. Joe lived by his motto: “Never go the same way twice and never go back the same way you came.” He made numerous visits to Norway to visit with family and was on a quest to visit all the capitols of Europe.

He was a charter member of the Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary Club and valued both service and community. He was an active member of the International Service committee and very proud of their achievements. In 2024, he and Kate went to Kenya and Malawi, Africa with a Rotary group to see how two signature projects were growing: bicycles for high school students and goats for villages. Together with Rotary and Warm Hearts Foundation he also helped Kate with a project to fund library books for a training program for impoverished women in Nairobi.

Joe is survived by his beloved wife of 46 years, Kate; his daughter, Charlotte (Daniel Washburn) DeKoning; his siblings, Joan (Robert) Jansma, Judith Schutter, Karla (Peter) Hitchcock, and Nan (Daniel) Joslyn; as well as many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great nephews, and cousins.

He was preceded in death by his parents; his sister, Ruth (Robert) Buitendorp; and his brother-in-law, Harold Schutter.

A celebration of Joe’s life will be held this summer, with details to be announced.

Memorials for Joe can be made to: Traverse Bay Sunrise Rotary Foundation (International Projects), P.O. Box 21, Traverse City, MI 49685 Please share condolences and memories with Joe’s family at www.martinson.info. Arrangements are with the Martinson Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Leelanau.