Joseph J. Santoleri

Age 89 of Berwyn, PA, died peacefully on February 16, 2018. Survived by his devoted wife of 66 years Betty (nee Donatoni), proud father of Marybeth Avioli (Rich), Joseph, Jr. (Laura), Joani Diorio (Paul), and Michael (Julie, dec’d), loving Poppy to his 14 grand-children, Natalie, Richie, Kristen, Amie, Joe III, Jeff, Brian, Katie, Andy, Paul, Mike, Dan, Cara & Megan, and 9 great grandchildren. Also survived by 4 siblings Rose, Nick, Fran, and Theresa, two sister-in-laws, and many nieces & nephews. Pre-deceased by his brothers Meade and Al. Viewing will be held Tuesday, 2/20 from 6-9pm at Alleva Funeral Home, Paoli, PA and mass of Christian burial Wednesday 2/21, 10 A.M., at Our Lady of the Assumption Church (OLA), Strafford, PA 19087. Int. Calvary Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in his memory to Malvern Retreat House, 315 S Warren Ave, Malvern, PA 19355, or Amigos De Jesus Orphanage 126 Woodland Ave, Malvern, PA 19355.

Joe was born to Emidio & Maria Santoleri in Philadelphia, PA on Dagit Street and was a member of St Donato’s Parish until his family moved to Gladwyne where his father was the groundskeeper on the Woods Estate. He grew up with his six siblings and from an early age he helped his father on the estate and considered a career in architecture, but was drawn to engineering.

Joe attended St Coleman Grade School, Lower Merion High School, and put himself through college earning a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering at Drexel University. He was a hard-nosed athlete, played baseball at Lower Merion, was a 4 year varsity football letterman at Drexel, and played for the Fort Leonard Wood Army team in Missouri. He married his loving wife Betty during a Christmas break from Fort Wood. He was transferred to Ft Bragg Alexandria, Virginia, earning the rank as 1st Lieutenant and served in the Arms Battalion in the Korean War.

Upon returning, he began his engineering work with Lukens Steel in Coatesville followed by a 45yr long career at Thermal in Conshohocken, designing hazardous waste incineration systems. He attained the position of GM along with achieving 7 patents for unique heating designs and systems; his career took him to many corners of the world where the equipment and systems were installed. In 1985 he formed Four Nines Inc., an engineering consulting firm, with two longtime associates. He authored several books in his field, along with teaching graduate courses and seminars on Hazardous Waste disposal and System Designs. Joe served as president of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and in 2005 was honored by the International Engineering Community in Phoenix, Arizona as a Pioneer in the field of Combustion Engineering.

Joe also had his hand in architecture and designed several homes for friends and family members in the Main Line area.

A devoted father, he somehow found time to coach each of his children in sports, volunteering for the Strafford Eagles football, Devon Strafford Little League, and OLA girls basketball - which he began in 1965.

A dedicated community and church member, Joe chaired the Finance & Building Committees at OLA, was a member of the Knights of Columbus, and was instrumental with the new OLA gymnasium and cafeteria. He was a board member and past president of the Archbishop Carroll Parents Association, and longtime member of the Malvern Retreat House where he was very active leading several committees, ensuring the beauty & infrastructure of the buildings and grounds. For many years, he Captained the annual 1st of February Weekend Retreat and received an Honorary Lifetime Achievement award by the Malvern Retreat House and Men of Malvern in 2015.

Dad was an awesome Mr. Fixit and enjoyed traveling, gardening, and vacationing in Ocean City. He loved the Eagles (staying up to celebrate their big win), the Phillies (was at the World Series win), PSU & Notre Dame football, Villanova B-ball, Carroll sports, and listening to Bocelli. His first passion however was spending time with Mom and his children, talking with his grandkids about their careers and schools and a vast number of other topics, seeing his great grandkids and attending hundreds of athletic, school, and social events. If there was a game – Dad was there. He will be truly missed by all.