100

 

I posted this in FB on his birthday and sharing it here now.  

 

pretty tulips

 
In other news, yesterday would have been
Erma and Joe's 73rd anniversary.  

Grandpa Joe

 
Grandpa Joe passed away 10 years ago on January 7. 
Here he was 17 years ago... That little baby is soon going to be 17!!  CRAZY!

 
Then with Kira!  He loved babies and kids.

 
Those eyes!  Anyone wonder where we got the blue eyes?

 
Playing!

 
And then it got a little crazy!

 
And Tia!

 
This was in 2003.

 
May 2006


 
August 2006

 
August 2006


 
circa 1944

September: Grandma F

September was a whirlwind.  Really, this whole year has been.  It's been going on a while, actually.  I didn't get posts up to mark her birthday or the day she died.  She would have been 93 this year.  We miss you!  Born 9/17 and passed away on 9/16 85 (almost 86) years later.

  

  

96

He would have been 96. Look at him with his parents.  Rob just sent it to me... Thanks, Rob!

95

Dad and Uncle Ralph (my Godfather) would have been 95, yesterday.  Happy Birthday. We miss you!  (Picture circa 1974.)

Anniversary

They would have been married for 69 years, today.

http://thekcompanyblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/also.html

Memorial Day

Rob, Joe, and Don remember Mom and Dad.  Today would have been their 68th wedding anniversary.

5 years...

Dad was never happier than when he was with Mom. Hopefully, they are having a grand old time playing pinocle, and hanging out.

4 years

 

We miss you.

February 3

He would have been 90. Happy Birthday, Dad. We love and miss you! (Photo taken May, 2006.)

Remembering

Tia with Grandpa Joe

Late October, 2005.

circa 1934

I'm guessing on the date... Joe delivered messages in NY on his bike. He is the one in back.

Thank you

Cadre 14...

Wonderful doctoral students...

(They sent me this because they knew I needed a little TLC.)







(And I'm not even grading them this semester--that's how good they are.)

C14, you all are the greatest.

Great smiles

July, 2002 with Natalie.


Having tea with granddaughters Audrey and Sophie.


58 years of marriage! (2004)



2000 on a trip to Arkansas.

His eyes shined when he smiled. He had a mischievous look. He definitely looked like he was having fun when he smiled.

Mechanic

He was drafted into the Army Air Force in 1942. During his training, he completed B-17 and B-29 school and was assigned, after several bases, to Walker Army Air Force Base in Victoria Kansas in January, 1945.

a favorite

I love this picture of Joe F.

How old was he here?

The Greatest Generation

Joe taught us a lot about love with his commitment to people and his family. He truly was a member of the Greatest Generation--the ones who were of age "When the United States entered World War II....ordinary Americans were asked by the U.S. government to give extraordinary service, sacrifice, and heroics..."

They rose to the occasion and succeeded. Then they went back to "ordinary life." They are "the foundation of the American way of life." We're paraphrasing what Tom Brokaw said of Joe Fusco's generation and it's definitely true of Joe.

Joe was buried here.

Highlights

At Joe's funeral, we celebrated his love of life. He really lived with gusto, and he would want us to remember him that way. This post is all about how much he loved Erma.

On August 30, 1945, he met Erma Allen. Joe and Erma's kids and grandkids love hearing the story of how they met. They've heard the story told many times over the years (and have heard many versions). It's become legend.

A summary of the story (that is commonly found in all the versions) is that the two met when Erma went to a USO dance in Herrington. Erma actually went to the dance hoping to see another fella, but Joe took one look at Erma and he decided she was the girl he would marry. At that dance, he kept cutting in and not letting her dance with any one else. Erma was pleasantly annoyed.

A little later, but still in the early days of their courting, Joe showed how determined he was by going AWOL and getting thrown into Military Jail.

You can watch Joe and Erma tell the stories here.

(Video taken January 5, 2008)