Joseph M. Maher, Jr
Joseph M. Maher, Jr, a pillar of strength and the beloved patriarch of his family, departed this world peacefully on December 28, 2023. He was surrounded by family at his home.
Joe was born on October 12, 1929, in Greenwich. He was the son of Joseph Maher, Sr and Miriam McMurtry Maher. He attended Greenwich Country Day School, the King School, and University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
After serving in the armed forces, he moved to Bethel in 1959 and founded D and B Concrete company. It was here that he was introduced to Joan Green of Danbury. After a ten-month courtship, they married. They settled in Newtown and raised three children: Jay, Jamie and Jill. He was a loving father who worked tirelessly to provide for his family.
All who knew Joe would admit he was “one of a kind.” He could captivate an audience with humor and charm. On Saturday nights he was a dapper dresser as he enjoyed fine dining with friends. His true joy was his commitment to work. Always the first on the job and among the last to leave, he started each day with enthusiasm and purpose. His career in the concrete and swimming pool business spanned 75 years. He was blessed to have engaged in his craft well into his eighties. His life was well lived. Always forward thinking with no regrets.
Besides his parents and wife Joan, Joe was predeceased by siblings Elizabeth Hanify, Priscilla Bolten and John Maher.
He is survived by his longtime partner, Anne Trister, who cared for him in his final days; his sons, Jay (Maureen), James (Jane), and daughter, Jill (Robert) LeBlanc, all of Newtown; his grandchildren, Jake, Michael, James, Sean, Kevin, Brian, Emily, Tim and Megan; and his great grandchildren including Robin, William and Johnathan; and his siblings, Victoria Lee and Stewart Thorne.
The Maher family will be forever grateful to the compassionate medical professionals at Ridgefield VNA Hospice.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 10:30 am on Friday, January 5, at St Mary’s Church in Bethel. Burial to follow at St Peter cemetery.
Friends will be received on Thursday, January 4, from 5 to 8 pm at Green Funeral Home, 57 Main Street in Danbury. In lieu of flowers, contributions in Joe's memory may be made to Ridgefield VNA Hospice, 27 Governor Street, Ridgefield CT 06877, or to St. Mary Church, 26 Dodgingtown Road, Bethel CT 06801.
I got to know Joe when I opened up Dere Street restaurant. Joe was a regular, he hardly missed a Sunday at the restaurant. Whatever steak was on the menu, Joe was having it. It didn’t matter the cut, how it was prepared or what sauce it came with, Joe would pull his whiskey flask out of his pocket and pour out the A1 sauce that was inside of it. I have fond memories of sitting with Joe and Annie listening to some wonderful stories and jokes. Joe was a first class gentleman and a dapper one at that. Until I read Joe’s obituary I had know idea he attended the King school in Stamford. And, Joe had know idea I taught there for 5 years in the early eighties. I would have loved to have shared stories with him. Over the last 4 years since the restaurant closed I have often thought of Joe and Annie and what they were up to. I am saddened to hear of Joe’s passing but I take solace in knowing he lived a wonderful, long life. Hod bless you Joe! RIP.
David Cooper