Obituary of Joseph A Altimore

Joseph A. Altimore, age 95 of Deptford, passed away at his home on September 1, 2018.

Born in Camden on July 9, 1923, Joe lived for many years in Pennsauken before moving to Deptford in 1986. His devotion to his family was the center of his life. Together with his wife of 68 years Marie, who died in 2015, he worked tirelessly for his children, grandchildren, and great grandsons. He is survived by his children, Dr. Michael Altimore (Lisa Hennon), Sandra Zambetti (Joseph), Jo Ann Arena (Joseph), and Dr. David Altimore; his grandchildren, Michael Zambetti, Natalia Arena, Joseph Arena (Alexis), and Brett Zambetti; his great grandsons, Vincent and Santino Arena; his brother-in-law Joseph Di Blasio; many nieces and nephews, friends and neighbors. He loved them all.

Joe fully embraced his Italian heritage, especially enjoying Italian food at family gatherings. An avid sports fan, he closely followed (and suffered with) Philadelphia’s four professional teams and those of Temple University, where his beloved Uncle Frank Altimore was captain of the gymnastics team in 1928. His greatest sports heroes were Joe Di Maggio and Rocky Marciano.

In his own way, he combined Di Maggio’s quiet dignity and Marciano’s relentless intensity. He was proud of his service in the US Army during World War II but longed for a world without war. He was thrilled when Italian-Americans succeeded but did not need others to fail. As a young soldier stationed in the South awaiting deployment to Europe, he purposely rode in the back of the bus, trusting his uniform would both shield him from retribution and symbolize the betrayal of American ideals that segregation represented.

He regretted that he did not graduate from high school and vowed that his children would have better opportunities. He was intellectually curious, interested in politics, learned to use a computer in his 80s, did crossword puzzles every day, and read avidly. The last book he read was a recent biography of Marciano. He was elated to read that he and Rocky both traveled to Europe on the same troop ship, Mauretania, although on different voyages, Rocky’s a few months later than his own. But when he came across this passage we can hope that he paused for a moment to appreciate that it described him as well as Marciano: “…Rocky was an All-American postcard from a simpler, more innocent age: immigrant son, family man, strong but soft spoken.” Joseph Altimore died, at home and at peace, an immigrant son, family man, strong but soft spoken, on September 1, Rocky Marciano’s birthday.

Relatives and friends are invited to the Visitation and Memorial Service on Saturday September 15 from 1 – 2 PM at the Falco/Caruso & Leonard Pennsauken Funeral Home, 6600 N. Browning Road, where a Memorial Service will be held at 2 PM

In lieu of flowers, please remember Joe with a donation to a charity of your choice.