Joseph R. Garrahan

Joseph R. Garrahan, 81, of Westford, MA, passed away peacefully on January 6, 2023 surrounded by his wife and of all his children and grandchildren. Joseph was born in August 1941 to James and Norma Garrahan in Waltham, MA. He was the middle child of five siblings. After Joseph graduated from Waltham High School in 1960, he went on to study Aeronautical Engineering at Purdue University and was a proud Purdue Boilermaker.

Joe went on to serve in the United States Air Force. He was proudly serving at Hahn Air Force in Germany when he met his devoted wife, Jane K. Stone, of 55 years. Joe and Jane had 3 daughters, Liesel Flaig married to Bill, sons Will (22), Connor (20) and Patrick (16), Colleen Steigerwald married to Dennis, sons Hunter (19) and Grant (16), and Danielle Ramacciotti married to Greg, daughters Sofia (10) and Emily (8). Family was always Joe’s pride and joy. Whether he was building zip lines, swings and tree houses for his grandchildren, teaching them how to play chess, or celebrating all holidays and milestones, he brought fun and laughter to every occasion.

Joe was a world traveler and thrived on meeting new people and experiencing new places. As recently as seven years ago he and Jane headed out on a world tour and have traveled internationally to exotic places including Bali, Singapore, India and Cambodia. His humor and genuine interest enabled him to connect with people in a memorable way. Joe was a ‘do it yourself’ guy and always had a project. He was always willing to help neighbors, friends and family. He worked alongside neighborhood friends to build a playground at the local elementary school and built his own ice-skating rink in the backyard to bring neighbors together. Friends were a constant in Joe’s life and he and Jane participated in a neighborhood gourmet group with three close couple friends that lasted over 40 years.

Joe’s legacy will always be a strong family bond, kindness to all people and to keep the fun in everything. He embraced life to the fullest and never gave up the opportunity for a new adventure. He is so loved and will be greatly missed.

A visitation will be held at Our Lady of the Visitation Parish in Darnestown, MD on Thursday, January 12, 2023 at 9:00am followed by a Memorial Mass starting at 10:00am.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to The Nature Conservancy (Donate Now to Protect Nature | The Nature Conservancy) or the Arbor Day Foundation (Let’s Grow a Movement - Arbor Day Foundation) to support our natural environment that Joe felt so strongly about.