Joseph A. Masiero, 94, native and former resident of West Stockbridge, died Saturday morning, Nov. 17, 2012 at St. Peters Hospital Hospice Care in Albany. Joe was born in the family home September 18, 1918, the youngest of nine children of Rinaldo and Angela Zenere Masiero, and was predeceased by his sisters, Angie, Lena, Etha, Mary, and Agnes; and by brothers, Angelo, Bill, and John.
His early schooling was in W. Stockbridge, and Stockbridge, Mass. After Pearl Harbor he joined the Army Air Corps serving briefly in this country prior to being assigned to the Pacific Theater of Operations in New Guinea and Australia where he served with the 13th Bomb Squadron of the 3rd Bomb Group. After being honorably discharged as a First Sergeant on May 25, 1945, he was accepted at the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania where he studied under the GI Bill, graduating in 1949.
Enjoying the company of others came naturally to Joe and certainly helped him during a successful career, first as a sales representative and later as Purchasing Agent for the City of Albany Public School District, retiring in 1990. Since then he enjoyed renewing friendships with his Air Corps friends, traveling throughout the country attending reunions.
History was one of the joys of his life. Joe enjoyed traveling to historic sites and reading as much as he could about historic events. However, his main interest was photography and he never went anywhere without a camera. His family and co-workers at the Albany School District especially enjoyed his photos of themselves and their families at work and social events. Joe was a generous, kind, and caring man, and will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
He is survived by his sons, Michael (Kay) of Tampa, Florida, and Mark (Angela) of Miramar, Florida. Also his nieces, Janet (Abbott) Lane of Dayton, Ohio, and Sara (Bill) Weaver of Williamsburg, Va., his nephews, George (Janet) O’Brien of Lenox. Ma., Edward O’Brien of Washington, D.C., John (Ada)Masiero of W. Stockbridge, Ma., and nieces, Mary Agnes ( Frank) McMahon of Livermore, Ca., and Jo-Ann (John)Ellis of Syracuse, NY. He is also survived by his good friend Charlotte Anderson of Delmar, NY in addition to many other good friends and neighbors.