Joseph ''Tex'' Marinacci

Dave,Helen and family, Due to my job and the associated difficulties of getting to Weirton, West Virginia from the Chicago, Illinois area,I will not be attending Uncle Joe’s viewing or funeral. One of my earliest memories(dating back to about the Spring of 1957) of Uncle Joe is him coming out to help my Dad(his older brother John)finish our two car attached garage Dad was building. Unfortunately Dad was working(perhapes one of his many doubles). So Uncle Joe by himself finished putting down the rest of the 1 X 10 boards required to completely close in the roof. Uncle Joe and my Dad used to play softball (as well as had a few draft beers from the keg of Iron City )every Tuesday. They both played short stop/third base but for oppose sides-Downtowners(of Weirton) verses the uptowners. Once Uncle Joe hit a slow grounder to short which Dad charged, gloved and fired to first. The bullet throw just beat hard running Uncle Joe. After the end of the inning( as a 6 or so year old) I questioned my Dad why he didn’t ease up his charge and/or throw so that Uncle Joe could of gotten on base. They both had a good laugh. Another favorite memory is when Uncle Joe would visit with cousin Dave. Dad would fire up his 1946 Willys CJ-2A(which my Dad purchased new and is still setting on that hill top overlooking our home Dad built- I dream of rebuilding it some day with my kids)and chase rabbits up and down the hills of my parents property. Speaking of chases, when I was earning my BS in Mechanical Engineering at West Virginia University I more or less put myself thru school by working summers at Weirton Steel.(Some have come to call this the Weirton Steel Scholarship program). During part of the Summer of 1972 I worked in the Strip where my father and Uncle Joe(plus two other of my Uncles)worked. One day I was riding with my father who was driving a crane repair flat bed buggie whereas Uncle Joe was driving a forklift used to haul 10-30 ton coils of steel to/from the tandem mills. They decide to race down the Strip floor. I am proud to say my Dad won that race.(Poor uncle Joe was handicapped as he was hauling about a 30 ton coil of steel). The last time I saw Uncle Joe was June 16, 2000 at my first cousin one removed-Robert West-wedding in Weirton. It was the first time I had ever talked to Uncle Joe about his WW-11 days in the Navy and the Pacific plus other adult subjects. I last spoke to Uncle Joe on September 6, 2002 to wish him a happy 77th birthday. How did get that date mixed up with August 29 th???? WE WILL ALL MISS UNCLE JOE BUT WE CAN ALL BE GRATEFULL GOD BLISS THAT HE WAS ABLE TO LIVE A FULL,GOOD AND LONG LIFE. Hopefully him and Dad can enjoy a few more beers/innings together now. Dan Marinacci