Joseph Paul Orahoske
Joseph Orahoske was born on March 13, 1917 in Cambridge, Ohio. He died on August 24, 2011 at the Veteran’s Hospital in Fort Harrison at the age of 94. He was the son of Joseph and Anna Orahoske and was born at home. An older brother, Joseph, his namesake, died before Joe was born. He had older brothers, John and Michael, and a younger brother, Andrew. His sisters were Anne, Julia, and Helen.
As a young man in Ohio he worked as a coal miner like his father, as well as a steel mill worker and a dishwasher. He also worked for the CCC’s before he decided to leave Ohio. He left his home to travel to New Jersey to find work at age 20, and lived with his sister, Julia, when he arrived in Jersey City, New Jersey. Julia’s landlords were Harry and Ella Sliker and they had a daughter, Eleanor. Joe and Eleanor met and fell in love and were married on July 4, 1941. They were married for fifty years before her passing in Helena in 1992. Their only daughter, Ellen Joan, was born in 1948.
Joseph worked as an elevator operator when he arrived on the east coast and also worked in a cardboard box factory. He was drafted into the Army and spent time in Salina, Kansas before being shipped overseas to the European theatre. He was a mess Sargent and loved what he did. He was so proud to be the man who got his meals to his troops on the front line. He had the honor of meeting General George Patton when he addressed the troops because the General spoke to the men from Joe’s kitchen door. Had Joe not tried to steal the general’s gloves, chances are they never would have spoken. When caught in the act, he told the general he was just dusting the gloves off for him.
Upon returning from the war, Joseph went to work as a meat cutter for Safeway Stores on Sip Avenue in Jersey City. By the time he left Safeway, he had worked his way up to Meat Supervisor for 27 stores and was an expert in his field. He owned and operated Lemmel’s Pork Store in Hoboken, New Jersey and owned a hot dog factory in the same town. He was the owner of Walt’s Restaurant in Linden, New Jersey. Before he retired, he worked as a middle man for the meat industry, selling truck loads of beef and chicken daily to the supermarket chains in the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. He retired in 1983 and moved to Montana to be close to his daughter and her family.
Joseph was an avid golfer and member of Forest Hill Field Club in Bloomfield, New Jersey. When he moved to Helena, he joined Green Meadow Country Club, where he enjoyed many happy times and two, yes, two, hole in one’s… When he wasn’t golfing, he never missed a golf game on TV and he loved to play gin rummy. Joseph was a resident of the Waterford for the past eight years and had a wonderful group of card-playing friends he so enjoyed.
Mr. Orahoske was preceded in death by his wife Eleanor, his parents, his brothers Joseph, Michael and John, and his sisters, Julia, Anne and Helen. His brother-in law, Peter Sliker, also a resident at the Waterford in Helena preceded him in death in 2010. He is survived by his daughter and son-in law, Ellen and Roman Petrenko of Helena; his granddaughter, Kristen Weg of Las Vegas, Nevada; his great-granddaughter, Zoey TarBush, of Las Vegas, Nevada; and his brother and sister-in law, Andy and Eleanor Orahoske of Willoughby, Ohio.
The family wishes to express their deep thanks to Joe’s wonderful friends at The Waterford, the staff at The Waterford, Dr. Shari Marx, Dr. Karen Cody, Dr. Susan Anderson, Dr. Susan Askin at Fort Harrison and Dr. Stephen Cade of Helena for their wonderful care over the years.
A service is planned for 2:00 p.m. Friday, August 26, 2011 at Anderson Stevenson Wilke Funeral Home, 650 Logan Street, Helena, Montana. Interment will follow at the Montana State Veteran’s Cemetery at Fort Harrison. A celebration of Joe’s life will be hosted at Montana City Grill and Saloon, Montana City immediately following the graveside service. Condolences may be sent to the family by visiting: www.aswfuneralhome.com.
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Debbie Mastrangelo says
Uncle Joe will be truely missed by his family in Ohio. Andy (his brother)will miss their weekly phone conversations. Uncle Joe was a special man.