Joseph Andrew Szabo -- seventy-five today and counting!

Joseph Andrew Szabo January 30, 1936-February 20, 2009

Joseph Andrew Szabo—great personal friend, fellow student in both high school and college, my “big brother” in Alpha Delta Phi, a super brother-in-law—and (most important) my Big Brother in Christ—besides being a marvelous NLRB Director and … so much more from husband of a beloved sister to father of many of my nieces and nephews to grandfather to many and (now) great-grandfather to two and counting! (Not to mention, he is the uncle to my children and brother-in-law to my wife ... and an in-law to so many more whom I don't even know.)

And yes, he’s seventy-five today—sadly, in the hereafter for us remaining—having easily earned a place close to Christ in the radiance of the Father almost two years ago.

Just a couple of very belated vignettes to highlight the kinds of things that even supersede his great career with the National Labor Relations Board and his celebrated abilities with word-working and intarsia (see photo below) in his final decade(s) of retirement … things that only an old curmudgeon might have been aware of, but that round out the picture of this great Saint in Heaven.

I spoke with him on the day before he passed on and his greatest concern was for his wife (my sister, Mary Lou) as we discussed the need for him to have a roof put over his outdoor transformer so as to protect it (and her) from the harsh Wisconsin sleet and snow—largely to insure that when the power in the area was lost, there would be no interruption from his newly bought super-automatic on-off transformer built onto his home.

He was gone from our mortal presence within 24 hours of that phone call. But his last thoughts were still focused on the safety and comfort of his family.

Another little known vignette goes back more than fifty years or so. Joe and I were entered in the world-renowned [sic] Woodward Oratorical competition (our own little Super Bowl, so to speak) at what is now called Case-Western Reserve University in Cleveland. The long and the short of that contest was that I finished second to Joe who gave a really great speech that day. Of course, I was devastated even though we beat out the rest of the competition—some excellent speakers on their own.

For me, second place was still “losing.”

Walking back to the fraternity house, Joe noticed that I wasn’t 100% happy with the results and so he remarked out of the blue, “Well Joe, we beat out some pretty good competition today and just think—we took home all the “gold.” Only the top two prizes included actual money prizes aside from trophies. No mention of his First Place—it was only that we won the only two money prizes. Instantly, I felt better.

That’s how I will always remember Joe. He was sensitive to all in his presence and at all times.

Even today, almost two years since his long and uncomfortable death, I will never forget this giant of a human being who always put those around him in his awareness and deepest concerns.

Happy Birthday, Saint Joseph Szabo!

Enjoying his retirement and becoming world-known as an Intarsia craftsman and artist