Joseph E. Walasinski, III, 62 years old, passed away at 8:03 a.m. on Tuesday, April 30, 2019 at the Hospice House, South Bend, surrounded by his family. Joseph is survived by his parents, Joseph E. and Mildred V. (Zimmer) Walasinski, Jr. of Fairfield Glade, TN; four daughters, Michelle McGhee of Lafayette, IN, Angela Walasinski of South Bend, Rachel (Shane) San Clemente of Sparks, Nevada, and Nicole Walasinski of South Bend; one canine son; Charlie Brown of South Bend; five grandchildren, Khalilah McGhee, Andre McGhee, Jr., Teanna Whitlock, Arianna Balmer, and Ava Scott; three great grandchildren, Ashton, Avery and August Kernell; sister, Cindy (Joe) Warren of South Bend; and two brothers, Mike (Cheri) Walasinski of Chattanooga, TN and Bob (Gay) Walasinski of South Bend. Joseph was preceded in death by his sister, Mary Kroeger on August 10, 2017.
Joseph was born on February 5, 1957 in Toledo, OH and has lived in South Bend most of his life. He lived in Taiwan for 2 years with his family as a child. He was formerly with Capital Technologies.
In his years at Capital, Joe developed a reputation as being one of the city’s pre-eminent Journeyman and got to travel to interesting parts of our country and the world with his work. Joe was quite a craftsman and had a creative mind that served him well in his trade. Joseph was a 1976 graduate from Clay High School in South Bend.
Joseph was a stubborn man to the last breath and loved his family passionately. He had a great sense of humor. All those who knew Joe in his youth, knew him as quite a daredevil on his motorcycles and behind the wheel.
How he made it out of his teens is anybody’s guess. Joe was not tall in stature, but made up for it with an extra portion of cockiness. He is well remembered by friends and classmates for wild antics.
It was not uncommon to see Joe standing on his motorcycle seat at 50 miles an hour. Later, Joseph developed many hobbies like flying kites, collecting knives, and collecting tools and bicycles. Joseph loved pretty much anything outdoors, including: bicycling, camping, scuba diving and kayaking.
He spent as much time as he could at the East Race and Lake Michigan. Joseph had a huge heart for animals. He loved animals and cared for many pets over the years.
He was also known for spending a lot of time helping the neighborhood children repair and build their bicycles. Friends may visit with the family from 1:00-3:00 p.m. on Sunday, May 5, 2019 at the Palmer Funeral Home-Guisinger Chapel, 3718 S. Michigan Street, South Bend, IN where a celebration of Joseph’s life will be held at 3:00 p.m. Rev. Terrence Coonan, Jr. will officiate.
In lieu of flowers, contributions in memory of Joseph E. Walasinski, III may be donated to Pet Refuge, 4626 S. Burnette Drive, South Bend, IN 46614. Online condolences may be offered his family at www. palmerfuneralhomes.com.
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