Joseph Garcia, Jr.

Joseph Garcia, Jr., 80, of Hancock, passed away peacefully at Pheasant Wood Center on January 1, 2020.  He was born in The Bronx, NY on August 30, 1939, the son of Joseph and Peregrina (Rodino) Garcia (Deceased).

Joseph was raised in Lanesborough, MA.  He went to Lanesborough Elementary School, North Junior High, graduated from Pittsfield High School and was class president his senior year. Being an avid outdoorsman and living near Pontoosuc Lake he loved waterskiing, speed skating, fishing, and downhill skiing the Thunderbolt Trail on Mt. Greylock.  He speed skated at nationals in 1959.  Deciding to pursue his interests Joseph graduated from the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Stockbridge School of Agriculture.  There he earned an associates’ degree in forestry. His college summers were spent fighting forest fires on the continental divide out of Thompson Falls, Montana for the US Forest Service.

Joseph joined the Air Force attaining the  rank of sergeant before being honorably discharged. During his tour of duty he married his former wife, Patricia Soucy, (deceased) and had a daughter, Pamela.

The family moved to Hancock, NH where a son Paul was born.  Jose’, as he was known, joined the Hancock Fire Department serving nineteen years as a volunteer firefighter.  Jose’ worked 33 years at Monadnock Community Hospital in various positions including director of food service.   He retired in 2005, where his love of hunting and fishing kept him traveling. Jose’ made annual visits to his daughter Pamela’s in Virginia where he enjoyed fishing the Outer Banks of NC, and the tidewater region of VA  with his son-in-law Adrian.  They also hunted deer on Virginia farm land.

Jose’ was part of the workforce at Twisted Forks Farm and Winery, as his property was named.  He grew, froze, canned, and processed fruit and vegetables, including hundreds of quarts of tomatoes, and made wines.  His leather crafts were creative.  He loved cooking for people.

Jose’ is survived by his brother John Garcia, and wife Cathy, of Windsor MA, his daughter Pamela Garcia and husband Adrian, and grand dog Fred, a coonhound, of Suffolk VA, and son, Paul Garcia, of Hancock, NH. He’s also survived by relatives in NY, Spain, and Chile.

Services will be held in the spring and announced at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Joseph’s memory to: SE Virginia Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Attn: Chad Brown, 9046 Guinea Road, Hayes, VA 23072