Joseph Stanley Szczesny

Joseph Stanley Szczesny, age 92, passed away peacefully in his sleep on December 20, 2024, with family at his side, at Casey House, Montgomery Hospice, in Rockville, MD.

Joe was born to Bronislaw (Benjamin) and Casimira (Katherine) (nee Sikorski) Szczesny on June 19, 1932, in Jamaica, Queens County, New York. Joe was the second youngest of eight children.

He is proceeded in death by his wife of 64 years, Elizabeth (nee Campbell) Szczesny; by his parents; siblings, the late Henrietta, Jane, Jessie C. Von Hagen, Florence, Theresa, Ben Szczesny, and Adrianne (Adele Ann) Szczesna.

He is survived by his three sons, Joseph Michael Szczesny and wife Bethany, Joseph Bronislaw Szczesny and wife Marilou, and Joseph Charles Maiden Szczesny and wife Vasiliki; grandchildren, Tony Szczesny and wife Rachel, Darlene Viera and husband Luis, Robert Szczesny and wife Nichole, Brooke Morella Szczesny, Maria Elizabeth Parrott and husband James Kyle, and Joseph Constantine Szczesny; and by several dearly loved great-grandchildren, nieces, nephews, grand-nieces and grand-nephews.

Joe met Liz in Washington, D.C., while she was employed as a typist for the FBI under J. Edgar Hoover, and Joe was a radioman serving in the U.S. Navy. She was a southern belle from Southwestern Virginia, and he was a city slicker from Queens, New York. Together they proved that opposites really do attract. They quickly fell deeply in love, and from that moment forward they were inseparable. Together, they built a beautiful life together with their three sons, all of whom Liz decided to name Joseph because, as she told it, she loved all of them equally as much as her husband. Joe served over eleven years in the U.S. Navy, and his first ship, the historic U.S.S. Hornet, is a museum ship docked in San Francisco Bay, in Alameda, California. Joe visited the ship with his sons in 2024, more than 70 years since he first stepped aboard. Joe served during the ship’s round-the-world tour, and fellow Navy veterans will understand what it meant when Joe transitioned from a “pollywog” to a “shellback” when he crossed the equator for the first time aboard the Hornet. Joe served on a number of ships during both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars. Joe and Liz both worked for the Bell System and then the post-divestiture companies of Bell Atlantic, C&P Telephone Company and Verizon Communications for almost 30 years before retiring in the 1990’s. Joe was an avid reader and a student of history with a remarkable memory for the information that he read and the experiences that he lived. He was gentle and kind, he was both an optimist and a realist, and he never complained, even when enduring the pain and difficulty of life’s many challenges. He was admired and loved by family and friends alike.

Keeping with Joe’s wishes, his remains have been cremated, and the family will host a Celebration of Life on Saturday, April 5, 2025, from 10:00am until 11:00 am at Farris Funeral Service, Main Street location, 427 E. Main Street, Abingdon, VA. Military honors will follow at Mount Rose Cemetery, Glade Spring, VA.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to support the hospice organization who so wonderfully cared for Joseph during his final days: NURSING & NURSING AIDES ENDOWMENT BY THE EUGENE B. CASEY FOUNDATION. To donate, click this link www.montgomeryhospice.org/pledge-challenge/ 

The family of Joseph Stanley Szczesny is being cared for by Farris Funeral Service & Crematory, Main Street location, 427 E. Main Street, Abingdon, VA 276-623-2700.