Joseph Gleason

Obituary of Joseph Anthony Gleason

Joseph Anthony (Joe) Gleason (Gleek) left us on Monday, August 10, 2020 at the age of 65 — 20 years after the heart transplant that saved his life and granted his loved ones the incredible gift of time and his boundless love through these past two decades. 

Born one of four sons to Lena (Michella) and Hartson Gleason in Spring Valley, NY, Joe grew up and lived most of his life in Rockland County, settling in Stony Point. He worked for the Hudson Valley Developmental Disabilities Service Office and Letchworth Village starting in the 1970’s, where he was a therapy aide, unit supervisor, and later a residence director. He is remembered as a caring manager and dear friend by those he worked with. He also served as Treasurer and Vice President of Civil Service Employee Association (CSEA) Local 412, where he excelled in mediation and contract negotiation. 

Retired early due to his heart transplant, Joe found joy over the years in cooking and teaching his children to cook, listening to oldies, doo wop, and crooners, watching classic science fiction and horror films, and doting on his pets — from lizards and birds to his dog Archie and, most recently, his beloved cat, Max. In recent years he had reconnected with childhood friends and colleagues and enjoyed reminiscing and catching up with them. 

Joe was an incomparable man, generous with his time and resources, always willing to listen and firmly but gently dispense advice. His humor was buoyant and his enthusiasm contagious. He was deeply kindhearted and conscientious, a true teddy bear of a man. 

He leaves a legacy of warmth behind in his cherished son Anthony, daughter Christina and her wife Maeve; their mother, Karen; his brothers Hartson and Jerry and their wives Ellen and Brenda; his much adored nieces and nephews, sisters- and brothers-in-law, and his many “official Gleason” sons, daughters, and friends. 

There will be a memorial celebrating his life tentatively scheduled for Spring 2021 in Rockland County. In lieu of flowers, please consider registering to be an organ donor and/or donate to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) at unos.org. A special thank you to the young man whose gift of life to Joe on December 28, 1999 will never be forgotten. 

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We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at T.J. McGowan Sons Funeral Home - Haverstraw
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