Joe had the ability to bring out the best in all of us and to make you appreciate all the things in life, especially friends and family. Joe’s love for his family and friends was infectious and it would always make you realize how much you loved your own friends and your own family, and to this day Joe is still making us realize how much we all care about each other even though time, distance and responsibilities sometimes get in the way. Whenever you saw Joe having a laugh or sharing a kiss and hug with his Mom before he left to go out when you were picking him up, you wanted to do the same with your own mother…whenever you saw Joe cracking jokes with his Dad and just chilling out on the deck at the shore house, you wanted to be doing the same with your own Dad…whenever you saw Joe and his sisters out together having fun like the best of friends, laughing it up and him only wanting to be with them for those moments and him showing them off to his friends, you wanted your brother or sister there in the same way…and whenever you got a call from Joe each time he would spread the news that one of his sisters popped out another niece for him and how proud he was, and how proud he was to be a godfather, you realized how proud you were to be an uncle or an aunt…Joe just made you realize what was important.
Many people remember Sea Isle Joe, O’Hara Joe, Cabrini Joe, Lacrosse Joe, Softball Joe, Bob Marley Joe, and all those other Joe’s that we knew and loved…but there was also the kind and caring Joe that I have already described in one way or another and I think many people can attest to this in their own personal and private ways…I attest to it and I will share one aspect of it with you to show just what kind of person Joe really was…A lot of you know that I was involved in a pretty serious car accident back in highschool and that I had to undergo surgery after surgery to repair a pretty banged up and broken face, and I was at Riddle hospital for quite sometime feeling very down, discouraged, ashamed, and very self conscious about the injuries…well Joe would come and visit me every day and night and sit by my side, there to just support me, to make me laugh, even though it hurt, and to just be a friend and let me know that everything was going to be ok…cause when you were 16, you needed a friend, a peer, telling you these things, even though your parents and family were doing the same, Joe knew this and thought it would help to be with me and it did…and when I had my 10 hour surgery Joe stood by my parents that whole time supporting them and was by my bedside when I woke up and saw tears in his eyes and saw how much a friend could care, that helped too…and when I was released from the hospital right around Christmas and really feeling like the Frankenstein monster, Joe took me out Christmas shopping to help me face the world for one of the first times, and when we walked around the mall and little kids were pointing and people might have been staring as people tend to do, Joe made fun of the little kids and stared back at the people staring at me, that really helped a lot and pretty hilarious to boot…that was Joe and that experience of mine is what set off my love for Joe and what made us such good friends, and I’m sure most people out there have some similar experiences that make you feel the same way about Joe, Joe just made things a little bit better, always remember that and always keep Joe in your heart that way.
But let’s face it Joe wasn’t always a good cup of Joe, Joe was stubborn, cocky, competitive, a tough guy at times and could bust your chops better than anyone I’ve ever known, and this just didn’t apply to friends, it applied to Mom, Dad, Step-Mom and Sisters almost more than anyone…but even with these characteristics, we loved Joe, and loved that he was stubborn, cocky, and competitive…and when Joe busted your chops it simply exposed us for what we really were, it humbled us, it made us laugh and certainly everyone around us laugh, and if he wasn’t busting your chops you may have thought things were off…I mean the only way I was able to accept my going bald was through years of Joe telling me I had a fivehead rather than a forehead…So even when Joe was acting in these ways, he made people around him better…only Joe could do that….
While Joe loved his family and friends most, Joe loved a lot of other things…Joe loved music, from the Eye of the Tiger to the Summer Wind and all the Bob Marley in between, Joe loved sports and was good at anything he played, from lacrosse to softball and even skiing and I remember skiing with Joe for the first time and seeing him do all these crazy stunts and thinking is there anything this guy can’t do, well he was good at everything and let you know it and you wished you could be as good as Joe, Joe loved cooking, and would often treat people to a BBQ feast down the shore and would just sit and smile and be proud when he saw all of his friends and family enjoying his feast, and if there wasn’t enough for everyone Joe would offer up the plate he made for himself, Joe loved new sneakers and lacrosse sticks too, and I’m sure there is still a closet somewhere stuffed with both as there always was, Joe even loved gardening in the back of his mom’s house on nice warm days with his Mom sometimes helping him out…and we all know Joe loved Sea Isle City too, from his Dad’s deck to making Sea Isle Joe’s town and making everyone remember Joe whenever you think of Sea Isle.
Joe also loved all types of adventures and shaking life up, whether it was fast or big cars, a road trip, hanging out with the Frannie’s crew, doing a stunt to perform for everyone, moving to a new town, or just making some changes in anyway, and Joe just wanted to experience life in everyway he could and squeeze every drop out of it…And over the past year or so Joe made some more changes in his life, there were good and bad times, tough times, but Joe took them on like he faced everything in life, and all of us were proud of Joe and proud of his courage and his honesty to himself and others, and we should all continue to be proud of Joe, of who he was and how he touched everyone’s lives, and to simply remember that Joe made all things better and will continue to make things better if you continue to keep his spirit and the memories of him in your hearts and minds. Joe would want us to remember him in all these ways and for all of us to continue living with a little piece of Joe in each of us, God knows only Joe could live with a big piece of Joe…So this was Joe in a few words, a kind and caring person, the funniest person in the room, and a guy you always wanted to be sitting next to…He filled all of our lives with love and laughter and just made life feel right…So whenever you’re feeling down or there’s a room that’s dull, conjure up one of your own memories of Joe, live it and make things right and then you’ll know Joe is still with us and always will be.
-Brian McEntee