OBITUARY

JOSEPH CHARLES GIORDANO, 68

Services were held Monday, Feb. 6 for Joseph Charles Giordano, a longtime Laguna Beach resident who died Feb. 2 at the age of 68.

Giordano was born Jan. 14, 1938 in New York City, and moved with his mother to California, graduating from Torrance High School in 1955. He served in the Third Infantry Division of the Army during the Cold War years, stationed in Wurzberg, Germany.

After leaving active duty, he worked in sales for an insurance company and then took a job as a sales representative for Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.

At the age of 38, he moved to Laguna Beach and continued working for Wyeth, serving Orange County.

He married Erika Winkler Swarbrick, who also worked for Wyeth, in 1985. After retiring in 1998, he was active in the local community, pursuing environmental causes, serving on the Parking and Traffic Committee and supporting the Laguna Plein Air Painters Assn., among other groups.

He also pursued a passion for writing and completed six books, mostly historical fictions of the California region.

He and his wife had recently relocated to San Juan Capistrano.

In addition to his wife, Giordano leaves a son, Christopher; daughter-in-law, Joanne; and grandson, Julian.