Joseph John Taschetta Jr. (1942-2018)

TASCHETTA, NUDO, DOMINY, NUNTASIRI, MILLANE

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 8/4/2018 at 09:21:12

Obituary from Palmer Funeral Homes, South Bend, Indiana.

Joseph John Taschetta Jr.
Dec 28, 1942 - Jul 22, 2018

"You've got to love one another like sister and brother. Every person before us is part of the human chorus...."

Joe Taschetta--engineer, educator, artist, folk singer and songwriter--tried to live by these words, part of his "Gospel According to Joe," one of the hundreds of folk songs he wrote over the course of a life that spanned many interests and causes. He died late Sunday afternoon, July 22, 2018 from an apparent heart attack while taking his regular walk along the St. Joseph River in downtown South Bend, Ind.

Joe was born December 28, 1942, at St. Joseph Hospital in South Bend, to Joseph and Angelina (Nudo) Taschetta, and was baptised at Holy Cross Church. His parents had moved to South Bend during the second World War so that Joe Sr. could work at Bendix, but Angie missed the old neighborhood in Chicago, so the family left South Bend when he was about six months old. In about 1950, the family moved to Wheaton, Illinois, where he graduated high school in 1961.

Joe studied engineering at Iowa State University in Ames, where he met Anne Dominy, whom he married the week after his graduation. The couple had their first daughter, Julie, while Joe was working for a NASA affiliate in Cocoa Beach, Florida; and second daughter, Melinda, was born while he was working for Heath, in St. Joseph-Benton Harbor. (Joe and Anne Taschetta ended their marriage in the mid-1980s, after the daughters were grown.)

After returning to Iowa State for graduate school, Joe taught at Northwest Michigan Community College, in Traverse City, Mich., Iowa State in Ames, and Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. Joe frequently heard from former students, many of whom attributed their love of engineering to his effective and inspiring teaching.

Beginning in high school, Joe developed a love of folk music, and through the years, he became an accomplished banjo, guitar, and autoharp player--and a tireless troubadour for peace and justice. His master's thesis became The Five-string Banjo Primer--If A is May, F# Must be February. Joe traveled throughout Iowa with the Iowa Arts Council, teaching and performing at schools and community festivals, and for several years Iowa State featured him in an outdoor concert series, "June with Joe." Hilbert Space was one of several music groups that he formed and played with in the Ames area. During his years at Iowa State and Purdue--particularly during summers in Europe--Joe developed his love of oil painting. A self-taught artist, Joe exhibited locally, regionally, and in the Netherlands.

In 1992, while in South Bend to play a benefit for the South Bend Catholic Worker, Joe met Rolanda (Ronda) Hughes. They married two years later at Broadway Christian Parish United Methodist Church, where Joe became an affiliate member. Devoted partners, Joe and Ronda just celebrated their 24th wedding anniversary earlier this month.

In the 1990s, under the auspices of Broadway Christian Parish, Joe worked with (then) pastor Mike Mather and others to form what was affectionately called Broadway University, or Be U, which offered music, art, cooking, drama, and other courses to members of the parish and its Southeast Side neighbors. With the Indiana Arts Council, Joe did residencies in several Indiana communities and became a multi-year volunteer with the music education program at Muessel Elementary School, in South Bend, where he was known by students as "Mr. Joe."

A kind and loving friend, partner, father, and grandfather, Joe is survived by his spouse, Ronda Hughes, of South Bend, IN; his daughters, Julie Taschetta (and spouse Surat Nuntasiri) of Los Angeles, CA, and Melinda Taschetta-Millane (and spouse Steve) of Batavia, IL; his brothers, Philip (and spouse Sue) Taschetta of Lake Carroll, IL, and Fr. Anthony Taschetta of Wheaton, IL; and his grandchildren, whom he adored and to whom he was known as "Papa," Celia Millane, Gabriel Millane, and Maxwell Nuntasiri, as well as many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held Thursday, July 26, 2018 at 11 A.M. at Broadway Christian Parish, 1412 Carroll Street, South Bend, with the funeral at 1 P.M. A green burial will follow at Porter Rae Cemetery at Potato Creek State Park, near North Liberty, IN. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to the community hospitality ministry of Broadway Christian Parish, the Des Moines Catholic Worker, or the Sierra Club. Palmer Funeral Homes--River Park Chapel is assisting the family with arrangements.