Joe Merlino, “Joe the Welder”, 55, of Virginia Beach, VA, passed away Saturday, December 10, 2011 at a hospital in Virginia Beach surrounded by his loving family. Joe was the son of the late Joe Merlino Sr. and Dorothy “Dottie” Pallette Merlino.
Joe is survived by his three children Alex, Candace, and JoJo Merlino; three grandchildren Bryce, Aedan, and Brooks; sisters, Vicki Fersch and Maria Conner and her husband Walter; nieces and nephews.
A funeral service will be conducted Friday at 1:00 PM at the Altmeyer Funeral Home, 5792 Greenwich Road in Virginia Beach. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 8:00 PM Thursday at the funeral home. Memorial contributions may be made to St. Jude’s Children Hospital, 501 St Jude Place Memphis, TN 38105. Condolences may be offered to the family at altmeyer.com
Past Services
Visitation
Thursday December 15, 2011
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Altmeyer Funeral Home -Southside Chapel
5792 Greenwich Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
757-422-4000 | Directions
5792 Greenwich Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23462
757-422-4000 | Directions
Service
Friday December 16, 2011
1:00 pm
“My Best Memory”
“Oh no,the dredge broke”
“Can’t weld it!!”
“Can’t get to the part”
“CALL JOEY!!” ……….
“Put The leads in the boat”
“WATCH YOUR EYES”…….
“ALL DONE”
I feel it was my privilege to know Joe for many years. Welding together and telling stories will be my best memiories of him.
My thoughts to family and friends.
A true loving father and a man that was always there when you needed him, a true character and a true friendship… thank you joe for always being there when a pipe needed welding or someone to shoot the breeze with…. we love you forever and will reunite one day.
Candace, My deepest sympathy to you and your family. I know there are no words I can offer that will help, but hold on tight to the wonderful memories of your father. They will ease your pain. My thoughts and prayers go out to you at this difficult time.~~Ronda
I am so very sorry for your loss. Behind Joey’s signature baseball cap and dark sunglasses was a gentle soul who was a friend to all and whose loss will be felt by many. The fact that he was loved by so many people is a testament of a life well lived. Apparently the Lord needed a great welder with a “bigger than life” personality so who better to call than the son, brother, father, grandfather, and friend we were so blessed to have known.
I am so very sorry for your loss. Joey and I have been friends since the early 70’s. We worked at several shipyards together and even did a few welding ventures together. Joe was the best welder that I have ever known. I have never seen anyone who could weld with 7018 like he could. He had a great sense of humor and was always pulling some kind of prank on my brother and I. One time he was riding with me and we had to stop at the expressway toll plaza to pay the toll. Joe reached over and took my keys out of the ignition and threw them out the window and over the roof. I don’t think that I have ever been that embarassed. Stopping traffic in the next lane to try to retrive my keys. We laughed over that for years. I pray that God gives you strength to get you all through this trying period. Rest assured that Joey is in a better place. I bet God has him welding golden gates already. May God bless you all.
Greg Simpson
I send my condolences to the Family. It was a priviledge to know Joey. He went to be with our Lord and I know Joey will be watching over us all. He was a great man, son, brother, father, and grandfather with a pure heart and soul. Until we meet again.
Joe
May your journey to Heaven be swift, may Gods love shine upon your face when you arrive. The friendship that we shared will never be forgotten, for I have had many passing acquaintances and few friends. I am proud to say that you were one of my best and loyal friends ever. I will never forget you, thanks for all the great times that we shared together, except for the plane ride. Your friend,
Jimmy and Cathy Simpson
Joe will be missed by so many who love him and were honored to have him as a friend. He was a devoted father, a hard working man, and a friend to all who knew him. He was never to busy to help others. I will always be grateful for him taking my boys to gun shows and treating them like his own. They were always eager to spend time with “Uncle Joe”. Christmas Eve will be hard without you, but as Samuel reminded me….”Uncle Joe would still want us to all get together.” And I know you will be looking down on us and be with us in spirit.
Joey is going to be severely missed in our community. It was a pleasure to have worked with him for 28 years. He was a true treasure. Joey gave us many wonderful and funny memories that we will cherish. His kindness was tremendous. Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Joe.
Rick and Sonja Garringer
My dear brother became more precious to me as I grew older. As I learned his character as a grown man I became very proud of him–strong work ethic and how he helped others–even strangers. Like our father before us, Joe passionately loved his family. I will greatly miss how I felt I could call upon him if I needed him and he would be there for me. I remember how as a child, he filled-up “daddy’s” gas tank with the garden hose water and fell asleep in the accordian box–parents frantically could not initially find him!! What memories!! ;
My thoughts and prayers to the family, Joe was a great friend and teacher of the trade to me for 18 years, he will be missed by all.
Sorry to hear of Joe’s passing. We went to FC and worked in the shipyard together for a few years. My thoughts are with the family.
Though it has been a long time since I had seen Joey, like many others I remember he was the “Go-TO Pro” for many of the off-roaders. That’s how I met him and the gracious person he was. Rest easy, Joey. You will be missed. Prayers for strength to your family.
To the greatest father,friend and acquaintance that loved his family and friends. Whenever I needed a shoulder to cry on… you were there. When I didn’t need a shoulder to cry on.. you were there… To a man that put his kids first in his life instead of himself. My father, Joe Merlino Joe the welder … There will never be a more unselfish soul. I love you with all my heart and know that you are watching over us right now in the most painful period in our lives right now. We are in so much pain and to help with the pain, we have to think of how you lived your life with us. We are very fortunate that God put you on this earth to be our Father… because you are our glue that holds us together.My dad may not have been the richest man on this planet but he was the Richest man in our lives and he always ran his business fair and it wasn’t all about the money for him. It was all about his family. He always supplied us with everything we could ever ask for.I love you dad.WE ALL LOVE YOU