Funeral services were held April 27 at Congregation B’nai Jacob, Jersey City, for Joseph Mason, 94, of Hoboken, and Richmond, Va. He passed away recently of natural causes. He was born on Nov. 19, 1921 in Boston, Mass. to Anna and Samuel Nathanson, of blessed memory, recent immigrants from Eastern Europe. He had one brother, Lee, who predeceased him.
Joe joined the United States Army in 1942 and saw action in the North African and European Theaters. In Europe, after Joe’s maintenance unit suffered casualties, he became a tank driver. His unit was part of the Allied force that entered Rome, fought in the Battle of the Bulge and liberated the Mauthausen concentration camps. After the war, Joe was detailed to western Africa to inventory Allied equipment and had the adventure of his life touring Casablanca, Monrovia, Accra and environs.
Joe returned to the United States in late 1945, married his beloved Pearl, of blessed memory, and had three children, Bobby, Sandy and Ricky, who survive him. Joe is also survived by his daughter in law Beth and his son in law Bob, and his grandchildren Shipley and Virginia.
After Joe’s wife Pearl passed away, he married Grace Cane, who predeceased him; his step-children David, Brooke, and Josh survive him, as do numerous other relatives and friends.
Joe was a radio and television sportscaster from the 1950s through the 1980s, focusing on college basketball and football; for many years he was the voice of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) cadets. He also broadcast minor league baseball games and turned down a major league contract so that he would not have to spend months each year away from his family.
Devoted to Jewish causes, Joe was an active member of Temple Beth-El in Richmond, and, in later years, the United Synagogue of Hoboken. He always had a smile and spread goodwill wherever he went. Services arranged by Lawrence P Gutterman Funeral Directors, Bayonne.