Joe Hernandez, 28-Year Post Employee

Joe Hernandez, the Palisadian-Post shop foreman and a 28-year employee, passed away unexpectedly on December 12. He was 54. Joe was born in the San Fernando Valley on August 29, 1952. He attended San Fernando High School and started working at The Sun, a book publishing company in Van Nuys, at age 16. He eventually became head pressman at The Sun. Palisadian-Post production manager Jim Reynolds hired Joe in September 1978, about six months after Reynolds started working at the Post. ‘The pressman who left had broken the press,’ Reynolds remembers. ‘So I asked the people I interviewed if they knew how to fix the press. I hired Joe and he was able to fix it.’ Joe proved to be a quick learner. In two years, he moved up–literally, upstairs–to run the single-color presses. The single-color presses are ‘completely different from the web press,’ Reynolds says. ‘I gave Joe about two lessons and he had it down pat.’ When the Post later purchased two-color presses that nobody knew how to run, Joe had two weeks of training and was proficient. ‘When it came to printing, Joe was a craftsman at his trade,’ says Ed Lowe, the Post’s graphics director. ‘He was a perfectionist. He would not approve a printing job unless he was satisfied with the quality.’ Joe also did a lot of mechanical repairs, which Reynolds says ‘saved us from having to call in a repairman. He would troubleshoot. If there was stuff he was unfamiliar with, he would sit, look at it, jiggle it around for a while, and fix it.’ Manual Tavarez, another Post employee who worked closely with Joe for nearly 13 years, says Joe could fix any machine and was always helping others repair their equipment. ‘He was an electrician, a plumber, a mechanic. We used to joke that when he had problems with his press, nobody could help him.’ Lowe used to kid with Joe about opening ‘Joe’s Garage’ behind the Post because Joe ‘would work on employees’ cars and stay late fixing them.’ Tavarez agrees that Joe was a perfectionist and always kept his space neat and clean’at work and at home. But working with him was easy. ‘We were always in a good mood, laughing and telling jokes,’ Tavarez says. ‘He was a great friend, and he cared so much about everybody.’ Palisadian-Post Publisher Roberta Donohue recalls that she and Joe initially worked together as co-workers before she became publisher in 1987. ‘Joe was somebody I always went to with questions about printing,’ she says. ‘Besides that, he and I bonded as friends. He was always someone I could talk to and relate to.’ Donohue says that Reynolds’ and Joe’s willingness to teach her everything she would need to know to be director of Post Printing gave her confidence to assume that position. ‘Knowing that I had their support gave me courage,’ she says. Joe also had a passion for the outdoors and liked to hike along the Kern River and in Yosemite. ‘He loved to hike any mountain or trail,’ says his younger daughter, Jennifer. Joe was proud of his American Indian heritage (on his mother’s side) and enjoyed going to Indian powwows. He also loved classic rock music, including the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Frank Zappa. ‘He was an avid record collector,’ Reynolds says. ‘He’s got an extensive record collection that’s kind of unbelievable.’ Joe is survived by his parents, Joe and Delores Hernandez of Bakersfield; sister Linda Garcia and family of North Hills, brother David Hernandez of Mission Hills, and brother Richard Hernandez of Bakersfield; daughters Adrianna Murillo (Dennis) of Valley Village and Jennifer Hernandez (Jay Farar) of Woodland Hills; and grandchildren Diego Murillo and Jacob Farar (a.k.a. “Jakey Boy”), who called Joe ‘Papa.’ A service will be held tomorrow, December 22, at 10 a.m. at St. John’s Baptist de la Salle Parish, 10738 Havenhurst Ave. in Granada Hills. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to Diego’s and Jacob’s college fund at: Washington Mutual Bank, 11160 Balboa Blvd., Granada Hills, CA 91344, Acct. # 3152024019. Checks should be made payable to Diego Murillo or Jacob Farar.