Joseph Mickiewicz, a Malibu resident and employee at Hughes Aircraft, died Oct. 13, 2005.
Mickiewicz, born and raised in the Detroit area, enlisted in the United States Army during World War II. He fought in five separate campaigns and received numerous citations including five Bronze Stars and the Good Conduct Ribbon.
After returning from service, Mickiewicz pursued his dream of becoming a machinist and acquired a job at Hughes Aircraft. It was there that he was assigned to the Jig Boring machines, where several years later he would be instrumental in the precision machining of parts that went into building the first space and moon surveyor module.
During his time at Hughes Aircraft, Mickiewicz married Jean, who was employed as a public accountant for the company. In 1954 the couple bought a home on Sweetwater Canyon Drive, where they raised several exotic pets.
Mickiewicz tried to run for public office in Malibu because he was upset about the way the city government was organizing things such as weed control, special assessments and the use of sewer verses septic tanks.
After the death of his wife and mother, Mickiewicz bought property in Oregon. He continued working at Hughes Aircraft, where he worked on spacecraft contracts for NASA.
After retiring, Mickiewicz began to work on beautification projects around his yard at home and he also became interested in watercolor painting and music.