Obituary for Joseph D. Albaum
Joseph D. Albaum
A lifelong New Yorker, he was born in Queens in 1940 and baptized at Holy Child Jesus Parish in Richmond Hill, later living in Hastings and Yonkers before settling in Pleasantville. He enlisted in the US Army in 1961 shortly before receiving his draft notice and served as an aircraft mechanic in Vietnam in 1963 and 1964. His love of tinkering with and fixing things lasted throughout his life; he took great pride in working on his cars and handling any needed home repairs, and he never met a broken appliance he didn’t want to take apart and rebuild. He worked at Kraft/General Foods for his entire career and holds several patents related to food chemistry. He enjoyed tennis and golf, biking and skiing, Jones Beach, Robert Moses State Park, and spending decades of summer vacations at Cape Cod or the Jersey Shore with his kids and grandkids. He battled Parkinson’s tenaciously for 18 years, forging ahead with each new challenge the disease brought him by maintaining the mental attitude that he was not sick, and he was willing to try any experimental treatment that might turn back the clock on his symptoms.
He was predeceased by his parents, Joseph and Anne Albaum, and his older sister, Joanne, who died earlier this year. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Ann, who was his devoted caretaker for the last few years of his life, a daughter, Lee, and her husband, Ed Crowley, a son, Gary, and his wife, Tara, and 5 grandchildren, Hannah, Cavan, and Matt Crowley, and Jonathan and Katie Albaum as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews.
A lifelong New Yorker, he was born in Queens in 1940 and baptized at Holy Child Jesus Parish in Richmond Hill, later living in Hastings and Yonkers before settling in Pleasantville. He enlisted in the US Army in 1961 shortly before receiving his draft notice and served as an aircraft mechanic in Vietnam in 1963 and 1964. His love of tinkering with and fixing things lasted throughout his life; he took great pride in working on his cars and handling any needed home repairs, and he never met a broken appliance he didn’t want to take apart and rebuild. He worked at Kraft/General Foods for his entire career and holds several patents related to food chemistry. He enjoyed tennis and golf, biking and skiing, Jones Beach, Robert Moses State Park, and spending decades of summer vacations at Cape Cod or the Jersey Shore with his kids and grandkids. He battled Parkinson’s tenaciously for 18 years, forging ahead with each new challenge the disease brought him by maintaining the mental attitude that he was not sick, and he was willing to try any experimental treatment that might turn back the clock on his symptoms.
He was predeceased by his parents, Joseph and Anne Albaum, and his older sister, Joanne, who died earlier this year. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Ann, who was his devoted caretaker for the last few years of his life, a daughter, Lee, and her husband, Ed Crowley, a son, Gary, and his wife, Tara, and 5 grandchildren, Hannah, Cavan, and Matt Crowley, and Jonathan and Katie Albaum as well as many cousins, nieces, and nephews.