Joseph Santarlasci

Joseph Howard Santarlasci, Jr., 77, died suddenly Saturday October 29 at NYU Langone Hospital in Brooklyn, NY. Born and raised in Philadelphia, PA, Joe was predeceased by his parents Joseph Howard Santarlasci and Rosemary Theresa Donovan Santarlasci. His son Joseph Howard Santarlasci III (“Jay”) drowned in 2001 while preparing for the Navy SEALs. Immediate survivors are his wife of 34 years Elizabeth Ann Stanton (Betsy Santarlasci); their sons Nicolas Donovan Santarlasci (Rachel “Rai” Manning) and Marco Foster Santarlasci of Brooklyn; brother Stephen Michael Santarlasci (Eileen Taubman) of Paoli, PA; and Stephen’s daughter Michelle Santarlasci Carini (John) and their children Cecelia and Anthony of Malvern, PA. His first two marriages, to Jay’s mother Patricia Ann Sanders and then to Priscilla Goodwin Schaefer, ended in divorce.

Joe graduated from Malvern Preparatory School ’63; Brown University ’67 where he was a member of ROTC, Delta Phi Fraternity, and the hockey team; and University of Virginia Darden Business School ’73. After Brown graduation, he proudly served his country as a Navy Lieutenant from 1967 to 1971 with two tours of active duty in Vietnam. He was part of the brown water navy and got his jump wings. He was also awarded the Vietnamese Medal of Honor. He was the duty officer during the recovery of the Apollo 11 astronauts when they splashed down in the Pacific on July 24, 1969.

After graduation from UVA, Joe started his first job as an investment banker at First Chicago. On the weekends, he was a fly half for the USA Eagles rugby team. He then moved to New York City, where he specialized in M&A at several leading investment banks, most recently Smith Barney. He moved to Washington, D.C. in 1985 to co-found the turnaround management firm Whitby, Santarlasci & Co., Inc. with Von Whitby of Salt Lake City, Utah.

In September 1987, Joe fell in love with Betsy at first sight at a party at the National Museum for Women in the Arts. They were engaged three months later, married in December 1988, and raised their sons on Wyoming Avenue in D.C. Joe was a wonderful husband and father. He loved rooting for Manchester United with Nicolas, for the Yankees with Marco, and for the Eagles with his brother. He was a passionate golfer for many years and especially loved playing with his dear friend Herbert P. Minkel, Jr of Osterville, MA.

In 2013 Joe and Betsy moved to their summer home in Barrington, RI. From 2013 to 2019, Joe taught Entrepreneurial Finance at Bryant University in Smithfield, RI. After he stopped teaching, he stayed in touch with his students and continued to help them along their journeys. In 2018 Joe co-founded the Brown University Veterans Alumni Council. Under his leadership, Brown extended need-blind admission to veterans and eliminated the estimated family contribution, replacing it with scholarship, enabling Brown to meet 100% of the total cost of attendance for qualified veterans.

In 2021, Joe and Betsy moved to Brooklyn, NY, joining their sons who were already living there. Seeing how bereft Joe was feeling without his students, Marco showed Joe how to use Twitter, where he became a leading voice for tolerance, kindness and justice. At this writing, news of his death is trending as #RIPJoe and has been liked by more than 50,000 people and commented upon by more than 7,000. Everyone who knew him treasured his gigantic heart, incisive intellect, and quick wit.

A celebration of Joe’s life will be held 11 am Saturday November 19 at First Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, 124 Henry Street and livestreamed at https://www.firstchurchbrooklyn.org/watch-listen/

Memorial contributions may be made to the Brown University Veterans Financial Aid Initiative at https://bit.ly/honorJoe