John Joseph “Joe” Kleiderlein, Sr. of Baltimore, Maryland passed away on September 13, 2019 at the age of 88. He was the devoted husband of 58 years to Patricia Ann Kleiderlein (Raborg) and the beloved father of Susan Sikorski, JoAnne Scarpa and her husband Dean Scarpa, and John J. Kleiderlein, Jr., cherished grandfather of Brett Sikorski, Brad Sikorski, and Joseph Dean "JD" Scarpa; loving son of the late Dorothy (Twele) and George Kleiderlein; dear brother of Anne Butcher, Dorothy Jacob, George Kleiderlein, Richard Kleiderlein, Isabelle Allanach, and the late Joan Hartman, Bernard Kleiderlein, Mary Schaub, and Jean Griffith Ake.
Joe was born on March 13, 1931. He was the oldest of ten children and grew up in the Govens section of Baltimore. As a young boy, he was a member of the Boy Scouts at St. Anne’s Church, where his troop collected scraps of metal, paper and rubber for the WWII recycling drive. At the age of 20, Joe enlisted in the Marine Corp and served during the Korean War where he a was water supply engineer. On June 30, 1954 while developing a water purification system for the troops, a steel culvert fell on him and he was severely injured. He was flown to a hospital in Inchon, Korea where he was treated and later released and sent back to active duty. He served in the Marines for eight years. He started working at Harry T. Campbell & Sons in 1960 which later became Genstar Stone Products. He worked there over 40 years and during that time he attended Johns Hopkins University (McCoy College) at night and was working towards an engineering degree. He ended his career as the Plant Manager in White Marsh, MD in 1995.
During his life, he was a member of various organizations including the American Legion, the Knights of Columbus and the Rossville Club. He later became active in the Scouts again, serving on the Cub Scout Committee and as a Scout Master which he enjoyed with his son John. He was also involved with the Girls Scouts and was a softball coach. He enjoyed many years of fishing trips to Assateague Island with his brothers and brothers-in-laws. These trips grew to include his son, sons-in-laws, his nephews and his grandsons. In addition to his many camping and fishing trips, he enjoyed taking the kids and their friends boating and crabbing. His patience was tested during numerous waterskiing tries. He loved spending time with his family at various vacations to Ocean City, Hilton Head and Florida. He also liked to Golf and there many 6am Sundays spent on the back 9 at Lake Clifton Golf Course.
Joe enjoyed woodworking and working around the house. He built a beautiful fireplace, patio and many other projects. Joe was an avid reader and you would find him early in the morning reading the newspaper and drinking his coffee. In the evenings you would find him sitting at the kitchen table reading books from his favorite author Tom Clancy. He was known to read some books many times over. On vacations he always had a jig saw puzzle going. In his later years, you could catch him walking at the mall, at one of his grandson’s baseball or football games or traveling to New Jersey to see his youngest grandson perform with the Philadelphia Boys Choir.
Joe loved his family first and foremost, his country and the Marines.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to the caregivers at Rossville DaVita Dialysis Center, the Veteran’s Administration, and the nurses and doctors at University of Maryland Hospital 13 West. And to all friends and family for all their support and prayers.
Relatives and friends are invited to visit at Schimunek Funeral Home Inc., 9705 Belair Rd. Nottingham, MD 21236, on Tuesday from 2-4 and 6-9 PM. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday at Church of the Annunciation at 11:00 AM. Interment will follow at Parkwood Cemetery. In lieu of flowers those who wish may contribute in Joe's name to the Wounded Warrior Project or St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Online condolences may be left at www.schimunekfuneralhomes.com.
