Known as the “glue” among his longtime friends, Joe could always make them laugh with his witty humor and was the first to come to their aid whenever asked.
A loyal, committed and eternally optimistic Cleveland sports fan, Joe especially loved baseball and never gave up on his beloved Indians, now the Guardians. Baseball ran through his veins; he worked on the ground crew as a teenager, attended games with his season-ticket holding father, and pitched at his alma mater Heights High School and on scholarship at Miami University in Oxford, and then in the Sandlot League. He later left the mound to become a colorful fixture at third base in the Sunday morning Beachwood Men’s Softball League.
After graduating college with a business degree from Miami University (Ohio), Joe began his professional life as a buyer at Higbee’s department store, making numerous trips to NYC, before working as a manufacturer’s sales representative in the textile industry. He later became a general manager of a beer distributorship before concluding a successful career in sales, lastly in the computer training certification sector.
He dearly loved and was unwaveringly devoted to his children: Steve (Stephanie) Baden; Robert Baden; Amy (Eva Fried) Baden; David Baden and Hilarie (Dave) Dewolf; and his grandchildren: Aaron Baden; Jarrod (Danielle Varga) Baden; Isabella (Justin) Frazier; Aliza (fiancée Devon Buchanan) Baden; Keevyn Baden; Stella, Scarlett, Georgia, and Zeke Fried; Jehdeiah (fiancée Ryan Connell) Maitland; Hannah and Ryan Dewolf. He was predeceased by his beloved wife, Sandra, whom he met at age 15 and remained with until her passing.
Graveside services will be held on Sunday, November 15, at 2:00 p.m. at Mt. Sinai Cemetery, at the corner of SOM Center Road and White Road in Mayfield Village. Shiva will follow from 3:30 to 7:00 p.m. in the social room at Acacia Park Apartments, 2202 Acacia Park Drive, Lyndhurst.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to InMotion at beinmotion.org.
