Thursday, July 10, 2008

Beloved Cousins: Too Soon Gone, Part Four, by Sue Kinsella


Joseph Francis Maffei

Son of Leona Maffei, who is daughter of Lillian Howland, daughter of Kate Baker
May 15, 1946 – August 12, 2006

Mom remembers Joey as a very good baseball player, especially good at catching and hitting when his dad, Neil, threw balls to him. She remembers one time in particular when she walked into Leona’s house, where the table was set for dinner. Joey, who was about 5 then, and Carol Ann danced into the dining room and grabbed black olives to slip onto their fingers, giving their mother devilish grins.

Kathryn remembers Joey as really sweet and special to her. They wrote sometimes when Kathryn was in her early teens and she so appreciated that her older cousin took the time and effort to pay that attention to her.

Carol Ann’s death, when Joey was a young teen, was terribly hard for him and he had a difficult time coping for the rest of his life. When he could, he worked for his dad. He was 60 when he died.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Interesting how things work. When Wendell died, I was able to go to New York for his funeral. Kayte and I stayed at the farm with Joyce, so I was able to sit with Joyce and the kids and talk a lot. We 'mourned' together. It was necessary. When Joey died, I found out after I returned home from the reunion. I had broken toes the previous week and my back was in constant pain. (It was a couple months before my back surgery.) I did not make it back for the funeral. I don't think I really 'mourned' for Joe. When I read the post by Sue, I sobbed my way through it. Thanks, Sue, I needed that! I do feel the loss of this cousin of mine and I do mourn him.

Anonymous said...

I suppose even then - when I was still in Syracuse - we were all so busy that we really didn't make the time to see folks that were nearby.

It always seemed like there would be time - later on. I only met Joey a couple of times - I remember his smile and warm heart.

Diana