Joseph Michael Sarnecky

Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania. He was born to Anna and Michael Sarnecky with one older brother George. He had a large extended family with many of the women playing a role in raising him. He had a penchant for athletics. In High School he played and lettered in Football as a halfback, Basketball as a guard, and Track as a sprinter. He was always speedy with a good eye hand coordination.

The naval academy recruited him to play football, but he went on to accept a football scholarship at Memphis State University. He was recruited by Ray Malavasi who would later become the Head Coach of the Rams. A football injury would end that career, so Joe returned to his hometown of Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania and graduated from Wilkes College, just two miles from his parent’s home in Edwardsville in 1965.

After college Joe went out on his own to Washington DC and Arlington Virginia. He was working selling life insurance. Always a car aficionado he was just a little shy of what he needed to get a brand new 1965 Austin Healy 3000, so his dad helped him by co-signing the loan.

Joe received his draft notice also in 1965. A recruiter asked if he was interested in aviation and the answer was a resounding yes. Joe was excited to see the world through the Navy. He tested at NAS Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. He passed and was given orders to go to NAS Pensacola, FL where he began his naval aviation career. He received commission in March of 1965 and completed NFO Training. He received those wings in August of 1965. He joined his first Fighter Squadron in June of 1967. He had two cruises aboard the USS Kitty Hawk CVA 63 as part of Air Group 11. He left that squadron in September of 1969 for Pilot Training where he flew the T-39, T2 & A-4. Joe received his pilot’s wings in August of 1971.

His F-4 Phantom training brought him to NAS Miramar, San Diego. He reported to duty at NAS Miramar in November of 1971 where he reported to his second Fighter Squadron in 1972. This was also the year his first daughter, Jacqueline Ann Sarnecky was born. He was deployed for two more cruises as part of Air Group 9 aboard the USS Constellation CVA 64 from December 1972 until December of 1975. In January of 1975 Joe and Cathie’s second daughter Michelle Sarnecky made them a family of four. He then reported to the VF-126 as an instructor pilot and adversary pilot through 1977. In 1977 Commander Joseph M. Sarnecky joined the reserves and served at NAS Miramar for another decade through 1987.

Some interesting stats of his Navy years:

2,000 hours of jet flight time

1,000 in the phantom

526 carrier landings

141 of them at night

And over 200 plus combat missions.

On April 15th, 1968 There was a mid-air collision under heavy air fire in Vietnam and Joe along with three other pilots had to eject out of their planes into the ocean. Tangled in his parachute lines about a half a mile off the coast with Vietnamese fisherman on their way to try to capture him, our dad waited for what felt like an eternity while taking fire from land. Thankfully, he and the other men were rescued by a US helicopter search and rescue squadron. They saved his life that day and allowed him the ability to go on to marry and grow his family. Early in his daughter Michelle’s career as a Delta Air Lines flight attendant, she had the honor of meeting her crew pilot who had formerly been the helicopter pilot in charge of that rescue mission.

Joe met his wife Catherine Weir Tarling on a blind date on February 3rd, 1967. Cathie was a Delta flight attendant and was on a layover in San Diego. One of the other flight attendants was dating a friend of Joe’s. They planned to set Joe up with another woman, but she went to the zoo that day and didn’t make it back in time. Cathie was asked to join instead. And it seems, the switch of dates was quite providential. The two continued dating and Joe proposed during the war in Hong Kong. They were married on May 31st 1969 in Sasabo, Japan with mostly only the squadron present. They celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary this year.

After leaving active-duty Joe earned his masters degree from USC. He started off self-employed in Real Estate as a Land Developer and Contractor in Oceanside. He then was a Residential Project Manager with the Irvine Company in Newport Beach. He went on to become the Project Manager and General Contractor for Nexus and the Development Corp building offices in San Diego. His last job was as the Building Manager for the Federal Government (US General Services Administration Agency) in San Francisco, Santa Ana, and San Diego. He fully retired in April of 2006.

He was always active in his local Catholic Church community serving on the Marriage Encounter team, on Cursillo weekends and later as a lector and Catechism teacher with Cathie. He was also active through the years with Rotary and Knights of Columbus. He maintained close friendships with his pilot friends through a group called the Slugs who continue to have a weekly tee-time and a weekly breakfast group called the Old Bold Pilots. After his daughters were out of college and living on their own, he and a friend served with the boy scouts leading troops on many hiking and backpacking expeditions. Through the Rotary he continued helping with the homeless ministry right until the very end.

He is survived by his wife Cathie, daughters Jacqueline (husband Kurt Rieback) and Michelle (husband Michael Sherack) and grandchildren Jackson Tyler Williams, Ava Grace Williams, Audrey Noelle Williams and Michael Joseph Sherack, brother George Sarnecky, sister-in-law Mary Sarnecky, and nephews Joe, Jim, and Bill Sarnecky.

He proudly carried his ‘retirement business cards’ to share with new and old friends. The cards displayed his Navy titles but also his titles of Pa, husband, father, friend, and fly fisherman. He was an avid outdoorsman who loved to make his own flys, and work on perfecting his technique both on the river and with deep-sea fishing. He was a devoted husband who modeled starting the day with prayer and never saying goodnight without an “I love you.”. He and Cathie enjoyed years of gathering with friends, enjoying sporting events, traveling near and far to visit family, friends, and enjoying many new sights cruising around the world.

He was known as Joe, Dad, Pa, Notso, and friend. He was proud of his Slovak roots, his family, friends, and his Navy Phantom Brotherhood. Most of all he was a man of faith who loved and honored God. He valued family and community more than anything and it shows in the outpouring of love for him. The family would like to thank all of you for your support throughout the years, but especially now. The connection with all of you is testament of a full life and a beautiful legacy. We thank you for being extended family and for loving Joe well!