Thursday, June 16, 2022
I’ve known Joe for about 20 years. I met him while deer hunting on our family farm in Hastings. He introduced himself to me and asked who I was. He then put out his hand and said “Shake the hand that shook the world”. When I told him my name, he quickly let me know that my father was his mentor and sponsor when he became a coal miner in Nicktown PA. Since meeting Joe that day, he would tell me many stories about his coal mining days, his baseball playing, and his love of hunting. We would send pictures to each other showing the deer from our trail cams. He wanted to enter a picture contest from the company that made a deer food salt block. I sent his pictures to the vendor and then asked everyone I knew to go their website and vote for Joe’s picture. Of course, he had the most votes and won the contest. It made him very happy.
He also talked many times about his love for his family and how much he missed his wife, Elaine. He bought a new hunting rifle shortly after his wife passed and he named it Elaine, so he was always taking her with him on his hunting adventures. I went with him several times for diners at a restaurant in Ebensburg and when we would be done with eating he would stop and visit his wife at the cemetery. He always had a story to tell and you couldn’t get away sometimes, especially when he’d say “Just one more thing”. I’ll miss his stories and friendship. May you rest in peace.
Mike Natarian
