Joseph P. Krankowski

He was preceded in death by his parents Maryanna and Jan Krankowski; daughter, Maryanne Krankowski; siblings, Anna Krankowski Motsko, Helen Krankowski Smyk, Stella Krankowski Rhoades, and Anthony Krankowski.

Joseph was born in the coal town of Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania, in 1924, the year Calvin Coolidge became President and J. Edgar Hoover became head of the FBI. At the young age of four, he lost his mother to illness, and his father, a coal miner, was unable to care for his five children. The siblings were placed with friends and relatives, but young Joseph found himself placed at St. Francis Orphanage in Orwigsburg, Pennsylvania, where he was raised by nuns in a four-story building with dormitories for boys and girls. He attended school and church daily, did chores and picked potatoes, pitched hay and served as an altar boy.

After completing eighth grade, Joseph was transferred to Philadelphia’s St. Joseph’s House for Homeless and Industrious Boys, where he attended high school. Joe recalled learning about Japan bombing Pearl Harbor while walking past a newsstand with other boys and seeing the newspaper headline. At that time, he was still in high school. In 1943, he was drafted into the army and signed up for the Army Air Corps. He aspired to be a pilot, but after a flight with an instructor made him ill, he transitioned to navigator’s school. He was fortunate to not be deployed and the war was winding down, Joseph received an honorable discharge in February of 1946.

Discharged from the service with $360, no job, and no home, Joseph and a friend from St. Joseph’s decided to attend college. Thanks to the GI Bill, Joseph enrolled at Bryant University in RI and graduated in August 1948, with a BS in accounting. He was eager to start his career and interviewed with CalTex Company (later to become Chevron), who hired him as an auditor. His first assignment was in the Republic of China in 1949. He traveled by ship through the Panama Canal with three Chinese generals and across the Pacific to Japan, then on to Shanghai. Unfortunately, Joe arrived during Mao Zedong’s campaign targeting the Yangtze River, and as the area was being shelled, he and other CalTex employees were evacuated to Japan.

Joe spent several years on various assignments, hoping to meet someone special. During his time in New York, he asked his boss if he knew any young ladies to introduce him to. His boss’s secretary had a best friend, Antionette Restaino, who was also single and working as a secretary in New York City. They met, immediately fell in love, and within a few months were married. Together, Joe and Antionette began a life of traveling the world for Joe’s work.

They lived in many places: South Africa, Australia, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Netherlands, and visited numerous other countries. In 1960, their only child, Maryanne, was born. Sadly, she passed away at the young age of 45.

Joe and Antionette retired to Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1988, where Joe enjoyed golf with the Fords Colony Men’s Golf Club and a network of friends. Until his last days, he read the Wall Street Journal daily front to back and enjoyed watching golf as well as watching the news and giving advice to the President! He died at the age of 101, lucid to the end, full of stories, and thankful to God for the life he had.

Joe is survived by his wife, Antoinette Restaino Krankowski of Williamsburg, VA. In addition, he is survived by various nieces and nephews: Janice Nassi of Montvale, NJ, Kim Hanley of Philadelphia, PA, John Restaino of Barnagat, NJ, Alice Patton of Deerfield, MA and Joan Salome of Brooklyn, NY.

A visitation will be held at Nelsen Funeral Home, Williamsburg, VA on May 7, 2026, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

A memorial gift in memory of Joseph Krankowski may be made to the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania for the Catholic Schools Mission Fund. Please mail to the Catholic Foundation of Eastern Pennsylvania, PO Box, 1430, Allentown, PA 18105 OR visit catholicfoundationep.org to make a gift online.