list_text=          No matter how implausible the task, retired U.S. Naval Admiral Joe Fowler got things done, which is why in 1953, Walt Disney personally invited the retired ship builder to lead construction of his latest dream - Disneyland. Fellow Disney Legend Bob Matheison once recalled a day when Joe and Walt stood looking at a stage in Adventureland, which featured a waterfall and a dressing room off to the side.
          Bob said, "Walt turned to Joe and said, "I'd like to part the water and let the entertainers come out, and then have the waterfall close behind them."
          "Joe never batted an eye. He just said, "Can do, can do." I know he had no idea how he was going to part the water, but he said it without hesitation - "can do." And, by golly, he did it."
          Born on July 9, 1894, in Lewiston, Maine, Joe graduated #2 in his class at the U.S. Naval Academy in 1917. He later graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a master's degree in naval architecture in 1921. A veteran of both world wars, Joe designed and supervised the building of gunboats in Shanghai, China, during the 1920s and later designed and built naval aircraft carriers, including the Lexington and the Saratoga, which were the largest aircraft carriers of WWII. He was also in charge of all U.S. Navy work conducted in the West Coast shipyards during WWII. 
          While with the military, Joe met such notable figures as Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower, Lyndon Johnson, and even roomed with Edward, Prince of Wales, on a British gun ship steaming up the Yangtze River. After 35 years with the U.S. Navy, Joe had reached the rank of Rear Admiral and retired in 1948-or so he thought. Within a few years, not long after celebrating his 60th birthday, Joe met Walt Disney through a mutual friend and soon began his successful 25-year career with Walt Disney Productions.
          During that time, Joe not only oversaw construction of Disneyland, but later managed its operations. Appropriately, Walt also cast him as technical advisor of the award-winning live-action movie "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea." 
          Cut to the 1960s and 70s, when Joe was charged with the Herculean task of planning and building Walt Disney World. At one point during the Florida project, Joe held three posts, simultaneously, including senior vice president, engineering and construction for Walt Disney Productions; chairman of the board of WED (Walter Elias Disney) Enterprises, now known as Walt Disney Imagineering; and director of construction for Disney's Buena Vista Construction Company.
          Joe Fowler retired from Disney in 1978. He died December 3, 1993, at age 99, in Orlando, Florida.&