Joseph David Perez

Joseph David Perez, 54, passed away on July 3, 2021. Joe was born on September 16, 1966 in Oxnard, CA to Hilario and Hilda Ramos Perez. At the age of fifteen, Joe moved to work and live at the Neptune’s Net, a popular restaurant in Malibu, CA, and learned how to work and cook. He managed to convince the school bus to pick him up at the restaurant, and he would go to school. He loved band, and learned to play every brass instrument, and received a scholarship to UNLV. In November 1986, Joe married Aileena Kaye Nelson in Overton, NV on August 6, 1988 and they were later sealed in the Las Vegas Temple on August 6, 1998. He worked many jobs throughout his life, from taxi driver, bouncer, and funeral assistant. He also worked at Federal Correctional facilities in Ely and Las Vegas, NV. He joined the United Stated Marines Corp, and became a recruiter. He was so valuable, that during Desert Storm, they kept him stateside to continue recruiting instead of going with his squad. In 1998, he joined the National Guard. After September 11, 2001, he was deployed to Monterrey, CA, then later served a tour in Iraq in 2003, and returned home after being injured. He later received an Honorable Medical Discharge in 2005.
Joe had many interests and experimented with everything. He loved deep-sea fishing, golfing, running marathons, swimming at the Bowman Reservoir, woodworking, and art. He was very involved in many organizations, such as the National Park Service, the Las Vegas Elks Lodge, and many military organizations. He worked with the VFW, American Legion, Wounded Warrior Project, and Semper Fi Foundation. Joe is remembered for the countless hours of service with these organizations and honoring veterans. Many veterans in the Moapa Valley area would request for Joe to play TAPS at their funeral. Joe was very involved with the youth in the valley, going on many summer scout camps, and introduced “koalafying”, a challenge to hang upside down while hugging a tree for as long as you could. Another great joy of Joe’s was to be Santa Claus, and would do Reindeer Runs at the elementary schools and other local events.
Joe will be remembered fondly. He was goofy and a troublemaker. He was a loyal friend, and inspiring to the youth he worked with. Joe loved his family, especially being with his grandchildren.
Joe is survived by his wife, Aileena Perez; his daughters, Ariel (Randy) Booth, Marissa Perez, and Felicia Perez; his grandchildren, Ashlyn, Liam, and Lucas; a brother and sister; a large extended family; and many friends. He is preceded in death by his parents, Hilario and Hilda Perez, and two brothers.
A visitation will be held on Monday, July 12, 2021 6-8:00 p.m. at the Moapa Valley Mortuary in Logandale, NV, then a visitation on Tuesday July 13, 2021 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. at the Logandale Stake Center, with the funeral at 11:00 a.m. Graveside services will be on Wednesday, July 14, 2021 at 10:40 a.m. at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery on 1900 Veterans Memorial Drive, Boulder City, NV 89005. Live-stream services may be found at Joe D. Perez Memorial Facebook Group. The family invites you to leave a message or memory in their Guest Book at www.moapavalleymortuary.com.