Joseph Conte

Joe(Guiseppe)was born in Canebrake West Virginia in 1916. The son of Italian immigrant parents Donato and Filomena, he and his sisters Armida and Rosina, and brother Luigi lived in the small town of War, West Virginia. When he was about 8 years old the family returned to their homeland, San Sebastiano, Italy. There he began to work as a carpenters apprentice and developed his love of woodworking. He honed his craft working in the church of his small village, and helped to build many of the handcrafted items in church. These included some of the statues of the saints the villagers carry through the streets during the holy day processions. Joe returned to the United States in 1934 at the age of 18 and had to learn to speak English. He began working in the coal mines of West Virginia. In the early 1940's Joe joined the United States Army to serve in WWII. His Italian born brother, Lou remained in Italy and was drafted into the Italian army serving in Mussolini's Italian army. He and his brother were fighting on opposite sides of the war. Fearing he might be fighting directly against his brother, Joe declined an assignment to Europe. He was promoted to Sergeant and served in the South Pacific and the Philipines for more than 5 years between 1941 & 1946. He suffered malaria, saw more than his share of combat and was ultimately injured as he fought to protect his country. As a result of these injuries he was awarded the Purple Heart. This medal was displayed in his living room as one of our father's most prized possessions. He was a very proud veteran and loved his country. After the war he went to watch-making school in the Cumberland, Md area. There he met his wife, Lola Jeanne Holler. They were married in December 1948. Joe began a career teaching watch-making to returning veterans. He and Lola moved to Baltimore, Maryland to start their family, and had three children Joette, Richard and Nancy. Later the family moved to Riverdale, Maryland where he worked for Litton Industries until he retired, working well into his 70's, He and Lola divorced in 1976. Joe moved to Beltsville, Maryland when he continued to live on his own until the ripe age of 92. At that time he moved to a group home in Davidsonville, Maryland where he was lovingly cared for by the Hazel, Dianna and their wonderful staff. Joe was blessed with 6 grandchildren, Jessica, Gina, Nicholas, Rachele, Lisa and Valerie who adored their Pop Pop. Joe was a true renaissance man; a very creative and artistic person with many talents. He could do just about anything. Design it, draft it,and build it, ...he could do it all. He loved dancing, painting, drawing, stained glass and wood work. He traveled to Italy many times over his lifetime, returning to visit the family he loved so much. He had enormous pride in his Italian heritage and instilled a strong love of family in his children and grandchildren.