Hesperia businessman and Navy veteran Joe Range to be remembered during service
Rene Ray De La Cruz- Joseph Anthony Range, a Navy veteran and businessman known for Range RV, died on March 29, 2025, at age 87.
- A memorial service will be held on April 23, 2025, in Apple Valley, California.
- Range was a former chairman of the RV Dealers Association and received the James B. Summers Award in 2006.
For decades, Navy veteran and businessman Joe Range was a household name in the High Desert as he and his family operated Range RV along Interstate 15 in Hesperia.
The RV Dealers Association announced the death of its former chairman, two-term Victor Valley College Board Trustee and pilot, who founded his business over 50 years ago in Colorado.
Joseph Anthony Range, 87, died on March 29, according to Dignity Memorial.
Range's family was the "center of his life" and he loved being a husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather. He will be greatly missed by his family and many friends, Dignity Memorial stated.
They added that Range was a “visionary and builder and a true advocate” for the High Desert community.
Nebraska born
Range was born Dec. 20, 1937, in Omaha, Nebraska to Joseph and Rosalie Range. He is preceded in death by his wife of 65 years, Cherie, Dignity posted.
He graduated from Del Norte High in Crescent City, California. During his junior year of high school, he met Cherie in study hall. The couple married in 1957 in Biloxi, Mississippi where Range was stationed in the Navy.
He was later transferred to Honolulu, Hawaii. He served in Midway as a radar and electronics repairman for the Willy Victor 2 Aircraft.
After completing his service, the couple moved to San Jose, where he worked for IBM as a quality control technician.
Range RV
In 1971, Range founded Range RV in Colorado, selling travel trailers and motorhomes. A decade later, he added AMC/Jeep/Renault automobiles to his business.
In 1985, Range relocated Range RV to Vista, California. Six years later, he relocated to Hesperia, where the business was operated by second and third-generation family members.
Range was also an avid pilot and owned several airplanes, but his favorite was his 1947 Navion, Dignity stated.
“Joe was a passionate advocate for RV dealers in his home state of California and across the nation,” the dealers association stated. “During his tenure on the RVDA Board of Directors, he worked on several industry initiatives, including drafting the first RVDA Model Dealer Agreement.”
For his extraordinary service to RVDA, in 2006, Range was recognized with the James B. Summers Award, the organization’s highest volunteer honor, the association stated.
Range’s service will be held from 11 a.m. to 1 pm. on April 23 at Sunset Hills Mortuary, 24000 Waalew Road in Apple Valley. A graveside service is scheduled at 1 p.m. followed by a reception.
He is survived by his children Terri (Chip), Douglas (Lorie), and Patti, eight grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, his brother-in-law, Chuck Nitz, and his two nieces.