Joseph A. Wirth
Date of Passing:
Wirth, Joseph A., 82, of Barrington passed peacefully on August 27, 2017. Joe was one of ten children born to Leo and Margret Wirth of Etna PA. Joe is survived by Carol A. Wirth his wife of 60 years, sons Thomas wife Stephanie, Joseph wife Kathy, David wife Susan and daughters Colleen Werbela husband John, Carolyn Richardson husband Steve and Gretchen Jurgeleit husband Phil. Joe is also survived by 14 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.
His funeral will be held on Thursday August 31, 2017 from the W. RAYMOND WATSON FUNERAL HOME, 350 Willett Avenue, Riverside at 8:45 a.m. with a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Luke Church, Washington Road, Barrington at 10 a.m.
Calling hours are Wednesday 4-7 p.m. Flowers are respectfully omitted. Contributions in Joseph’s memory to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN, 38105 would be deeply appreciated.
Dear Carol and Wirth Family, Joe gave us the opportunity to play for one of the best ranked football defenses in the Nation. His over 90 defenses were tailored especially for each opposing team and were extremely effective. We had a lot of great victories, laughs, and memories we will never forget. Joe was a great man ! I will never forget him.
Phil Bartlett, Brown University class 1976
I remember Joe very well. I lived in Etna along with the Wirth family in the early 1950’s. He was my good friend, mentor and one hack of a football player a North, in the military, the Shaler AC and West Virginia U. I knew Carol and was a good friend with her brother, Tommy Johnson. Joe Mace, 1955.
Mrs Wirth, The coach guided me to places I would have never dreamed I could go. From an immigrants son to an Ivy League education. All thanks to him. I will never forget him, nor will any of us Whalers who were lucky enough to cross paths with him
Godspeed
-Bob Mourao
NBHS ’87
My deepest condolences to the Wirth family for their loss. There are people that come into your life and leave an indelible mark. Coach Wirth had that impact on my life, and for that I owe him a debt of gratitude. He challenged us to push ourselves to limits we never thought possible. He brought out the best in us as young men. He taught many of us who had the good fortune of playing for him values of commitment, perseverance, teamwork, and the notion that hard work is often rewarded in ways you could have never imagined when running those sprints or doing those up downs. Thank you, Coach Joe Wirth for molding me and countless others into who we are today.
May God look after your soul and may you rest in eternal peace.
Joe DeMedeiros, New Bedford High School ’88
Dear Carol
My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family at this very sad time. I have such great memories of our times together at Brown football games and gatherings, – those were the good ole days!
RIP Joe
Fondly Anne (Parry) Becker
Dear Carol and family. Our deepest sympathy to you all. One positive out of the last several months was getting to know all of you. Our thoughts are with you all. Linda DeAngelis and Tony Annarummo.
Uncle joe made such a great impression on me as a teenager when visiting with my mom and dad(frank and flo).
Had a nice visit with the family when I was up in Newport getting a 72′ torpedo retriever ready to take to Bahamas at autec range.
Say hello to my son Christien in heaven, and will be good to meet up again there later.
I’m still sailing around Bahamas and fl keys.
God bless to aunt carol and all the families.
Dennis stanley
I learned so much from Coach Wirth. The passion and enthusiasm that he brought to practice everyday was unparalleled. It was so easy to go out there and give your all for him because you knew he truly cared about you as an individual. RIP Coach I know your up there watching game film right now:)
Carol and Family,
Joe was such a big part of my life at Brown providing me guidance as a football player, student and as a man. I truly appreciated playing for him and all the fond memories of Joe’s stories and life lesson. I am so grateful to have a chance to see Joe last fall during our reunion at Brown.
My condolences are with you and the family during this time of loss. Joe is now at peace.
Warm Regards from the Dancing Bear,
Weo!
Brown ’78
Our deepest sympathy to your family. You are in our thoughts and prayers.
Coach Wirth was a great man, and I would like to extend my condolences to his family. He will live forever thru the lessons that he passed to me, which I have passed to my players; and that will continue to be passed on (by them) to generations forward.
Rest in Peace Coach Wirth. My thoughts and prayers are with the Wirth family.
Kind Regards,
Scott Emmert
UNH 93
God Bless the Wirth family… Coach was one of a kind and he will be missed by all but never forgotten…
UNH
Joe was one of the funniest, and smartest football coaches I have ever been around. We will be dearly missed, but absolutely never forgotten. He completely changed around at UNH once he arrived!
John Raba
UNH ’93
Aunt carol and family,
Aunt Carol&family I am so sorry to hear about uncle joe passing away.we always had a lot of fond memories of uncle joe and your family.He is home with the lord now.You are in our thoughts and prayers.Sincerely jeff and sue olszak
Dear Carol and family,
Please accept my condolences on Joe’s passing. I have the best memories of Joe from Colgate University where I played LB for him and became a good friend. He was tough but loved his players and treated us like men. My fondest memory was hanging out with him and Chet O’Neil at one of the Colgate Party Weekends–we went up and down fraternity row and had a million laughs. Joe called us at about 2 am and we had to hike up a snowy road to shovel his car out of a snow bank. Then he brought us to his house where we had a big breakfast. I also had the pleasure of coaching against him when he was the head coach at New Bedford HS. Sadly, I won’t be able to attend the services because I am still coaching (44 years) the game he taught me to love. I owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Joe for instilling in me a passion for the game and being a role model not only for football but for life.
Dear Carol and family,
I am so sorry for your loss and Coach Joe is in my thoughts and prayers. He was a great man and He was a true mentor, leader and friend to all who played for him. I will always appreciate that he gave me a chance to play and the impact he had on my life.
Mike Lancaster ’79 (aka Lankydog…Joe always gave out good nicknames)
Carol and Family,
My days with Joe…Coach Wirth at Brown and our conversations through the years will always be some of my fondest memories…
he helped me became the man, father and grandfather I am today through his coaching, teaching, sense of humor and overall personality…he left his mark on this earth and influenced allot of lives in a positive way
Condolences to the Wirth Family. Coach Wirth was my first defensive coordinator at Brown and took a shot on an undersized kid who never played middle linebacker before. One of the best coaches I have ever had but he was an even better person. RIP coach.
Joe Karcutskie, Brown ’98
Carol,
We’re so sad to hear the hear the news. We’d like to express our deepest sympathies to you and the entire Wirth family. I have great memories of Joe and all the football stories. You are all in our thoughts and prayers.
Carol and I(Joe) are very sorry for your loss.
We have great memories you and family.
Lots of fun times.
When I was coaching Coach’s sons at Barrington, he was always there to discuss my ideas. A great coach and person.
Dear Carol,
I am so sorry for your loss. You and Coach truly made an impact on my life, as well as on so many others. It seems everyone he touched was impacted by his spirit.
Coach was a great coach, a true mentor, and a personal friend. He will be missed by all, especially his wonderful family.
Love,
Santo
Mrs. Wirth I am sorry for your loss, Coach Wirth was a great man and friend… his guidance and influence had a great effect on my life… his humor was unique… again to his family ” your father and husband was a GREAT MAN “
Carol
Please accept our condolences on the passing of Coach. He influenced so many lives during his career. Chris and I have fond memories of Coach while we were at Colgate. He was particularly helpful in my career. I am glad I had the chance to thank him in our last conversation.