Joseph Smalec, affectionately known to his grandkids as Jojo, to his Bristol Myers colleagues as Broadway Joe, and as Joe Shore to his buddies from the Elks, exited this earth Thursday, August 22nd, 2024. As always, it was on his own terms with minimal fanfare. While his family is heartbroken, they celebrate a life well lived and know the lagoon crabs of Manahawkin have breathed a collective sigh of relief, since Joe was their number one nemesis for the last 40 years.
Joe was born on July 1, 1943 to Polish immigrants Thomas & Valeria Smalec in Chester, Pennsylvania. The 12th of what would be 13 siblings, he was busy forging the scrappy resilience that would define how he approached things. After the untimely passing of his parents, he moved to Linden, New Jersey to live with his younger brother and maternal aunt and uncle, graduating from Linden High School. While he adopted New Jersey as his home state, he would never relinquish his love for the Philadelphia Eagles. He straddled being a first generation American with his heritage. He loved Cadillacs but still spoke in Polish with his aunt and had an impeccable work ethic.
It was working at Bristol-Myers that he met his wife of 53 years, Veronica “Ronnie” Smalec (nee Benz) of Newark, NJ along with many of his lifelong friends. Joe & Ronnie eventually settled in Colonia, New Jersey where Joe was a “girl dad” to his two daughters, Jessica & Laura, before it became a thing. He played catcher when Laura needed to practice 100 pitches a day for softball, encouraged Jessica at her creative endeavors. Joe wasn’t showy but was extremely generous and never missed a chance to slip his girls, and usually their friends, a twenty upon departing a visit while imparting “There but for the grace of God go you and I”. He loved nothing more than sharing his irreverent wisdom with gems such as “I was born on a day, but it wasn’t yesterday” making it into the rotation of quotable Joe-isms. It was also at Bristol Myers that he started his famous Super Bowl Pool which was mostly an excuse for him to stay in touch with his wide array of friends regardless of where their lives took them.
Joe loved spending summers and weekends at the Jersey Shore, eventually retiring from his second career working in optometry equipment to Manahawkin, NJ where many former colleagues and friends had also created family homes. Summer barbecues, boat rides in Barnegat Bay, & family style dinners were the backdrop for Joe and the guys winding down the summer nights with cigars while setting off firecrackers for the kids. He would often employ his trademark piercing whistle at boats who were disregarding the no wake signs. It was in Manahawkin that he became active in the local Elks Lodge and enjoyed the camaraderie of his fellow retirees and an intense following of the annual March madness matchups.
Joe is survived by his beloved wife Ronnie, as well as his daughters Laura Smalec of Los Angeles, California and Jessica Goff, son in law, William Goff of Bloomfield, NJ, his sister Jane of Manahawkin, NJ, his brother Steve and sister in law, Jacqueline of Cape Coral, Florida. He was an honorary uncle to Michael Knell of Lake Hopatcong, NJ along with many nieces and nephews. Joe adored his grandsons Levi & Bode and they brought him immense joy over the last few years. We know he hopes at least one of them will turn out to be an Eagles fan despite their parents rooting for the Giants. Honorable mention goes to the New Jersey State Lottery Bureau - who will have their work cut out for them to make up the deficit of his loss after many years of singlehandedly supporting it.
Joe overcame many obstacles in his early life and was an advocate of giving back to organizations that think locally. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you honor Joe’s memory by supporting the Lion’s Club Empowering Service Fund as it was the Lion’s Club that funded Joe’s first pair of glasses. Another cause close to Joe’s heart was supporting families that face food insecurity and as such, donations to St. Francis Food Bank on Long Beach Island, NJ or your local food bank would be greatly appreciated. A memorial will be held at Thomas Shinn funeral home in Manahawkin, NJ on Thursday August 29 from 2-5 with a Service at 4PM
To leave online condolences and fond memories of Joe for the Smalec family, please visit www.shinnfuneralhome.com
Fly, Joe, Fly.
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