Joseph Angelo DeFrancesco

By the Grace of God, Joe DeFrancesco, age 67, was able to experience one last beautiful sunset over Lake Superior from his home on Sand Point Road before he died peacefully, surrounded by his loving family early on Saturday morning, May 2, 2009. Before he was taken from his home, his body was blessed with water from the River Jordan that he and Connie got on their first trip to the Holy Land. Joe was born on June 21, 1941 at 2:41 a.m. (Joe said that was the time because he was there) in Detroit to the late Dr. Joseph Louis and Catherine Celia (Cmolach) DeFrancesco. He graduated from Southfield High School in 1959. Joe started college at the University of Detroit Dentistry and then transferred to the Ferris Institute Pharmacy Program where he graduated in 1965 with his Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy. It was at Ferris that he met the love of his life, Constance Putvin. They were married on November 27, 1965 and lived in Royal Oak while working as pharmacists for Cunningham's. In 1966, they moved to Munising. After growing up and working in the city, Joe wasn't sure if he was going to like a small town and thought they would give it a temporary chance. He started working at Putvin Drug Store for his father-in-law, Francis Putvin. Joe also worked at Munising Memorial Hospital as their part time pharmacist for seventeen years. In 1971, Connie and Joe bought Putvin Drug Store from Fran who had started the business in 1941. It looked like Joe was starting to like the small town a lot more than he thought he would. Actually, Joe told Connie after his first day of work how much he enjoyed the friendliness of people in the community. Munising would truly become his hometown and Joe quickly became Munising's own. Joe owned and worked at Putvin Drug Store for thirty-seven years before selling the store to his daughter Debbie and son Jeff. He was so proud to keep the business in the family another generation.

Joe was a faithful member of Sacred Heart Church where he served many years as President and member of the Parish Council. As a council member, Joe loved organizing the parties like Oktoberfest, spaghetti feeds, and Mardi Gras. He was 3rd Degree member of the Knights of Columbus , and active with the Cursillo movement, Pre Cana program, and religious education program with high school kids. Joe served on several committees in our community. He was the President of the Jaycees, and proud to be the youngest President of the School Board at the time he served, First of America Bank Board, Cancer Society, Munising Memorial Hospital Board, Hospital Auxiliary, Chamber of Commerce, Downtown Development Authority, and Historical Society. Joe also received several awards from the community throughout the years, including the Outstanding Young Man of the Year.

Joe loved his Church and his family. He was proud of his four children and enjoyed spending time with them and his grandchildren. He always said if he knew that grandkids were so much fun, he would have had them first. He loved the sunsets of Lake Superior, his cottage at Sand Lake, his red Corvette, traveling, watching eagles fly, and the American Flag. Joe was generous to all with his advice, time, and donations.

He is survived by his wife of forty-three years and his best friend - Constance "Connie" DeFrancesco; their four children - Debbie (Ed) Nedeau, Jeff (Shannon), and Diane all of Munising, and Jennifer of Chicago; his beautiful grandchildren - Jordyn, Kennedy, Kyley, Kadynce, Ariana, Dante, and Daniel (Leann) Nedeau; brother - Denis (Mona) DeFrancesco of Troy; sisters - Rosemary Zellman of Livonia, Lori Michalski of Madison Heights, Paula (Thomas) Fick of St. Claire Shores, Bernadette (Fred) Jenson of Commerce Township, and Noel (Roger) Dailey of Waterford; in-laws - Loretta (Roger) Kempany, Roberta (Jerry) Kinnunen, Sonny (Sharon) Putvin, Sue (Larry) Radloff, and Mary Putvin all of Munising; and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Visitation will be at the Bowerman Funeral Home on Monday from 4:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. There will be a combined Knights of Columbus and Parish Vigil service at 8:00. During the service at the funeral home, there will be an opportunity to share stories and remembrances of Joe. Father Chris Gardiner will celebrate a Mass of Christian Burial at Sacred Heart Church in Munising on Tuesday, May 5, 2009 at 11:00 a.m. Memorials in memory of Joe may be made to the Munising Cemetery Fund, Sacred Heart Church, St. Vincent De Paul Society of Munising, or a charity of one's choice in honor of Joe.

Joe was on the transplant waiting list for a heart and pancreas for over a year. As of April 27, 2009 there were 101,866 candidates nationwide on waiting lists for organs. Please consider being an organ donor. Don't think of organ donations as giving up part of yourself to keep a total stranger alive. It's really a total stranger giving up almost all of themselves to keep part of you alive.