Joe Towler is finally at peace after struggling with several dementias over many, many years. He was born in Worcester on March 14, 1925 to Joseph Cyr Towler and Alice Vayo Towler. He attended local schools and worked at the Town Club and on the local newspaper in Worcester before joining the Army.
Joe served during World War II in the 3rd Army Infantry Division, 15th Infantry Regiment. At the age of 17, he was on the Anzio Beachhead under heavy fire. He ran communication lines between the U.S. troops and the enemy, dug many foxholes, and played lots of Poker in them. Joe made many friends, some of whom even made it home.
Upon discharge from the Army, he entered the University of Massachusetts at the Fort Devens campus with many of his compatriots. After one year, Joe transferred to the university campus in Amherst where he graduated with a BA in English in 1953. After graduation, he joined the General Electric Company (GE) in the Advertising & Sales Promotion Department in Schenectady, N.Y.
Joe subsequently worked at the GE Ordnance Department in Pittsfield; LFE Electronics in Boston; Washington University Medical School in St. Louis, Mo.; WBZ-TV in Boston and Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington.
Joe loved to tell stories. He had a wide repertoire and would always leave 'em laughing. He was a short story writer and a voracious reader. He was also a film writer and director, photographer and lover of the arts. He did some acting in theatre productions in Schenectady, N.Y. He was a theatrical photographer for the Charles Playhouse in Boston, the Williamstown Summer Theatre, the Hartford Stage Company, and the Beverly Playhouse. He was also a portrait photographer for many aspiring actors. Numerous of his photographs were published in theatre publications and in the New York Times.
Joe had an astute perception and a sly wit and he was a not entirely unlikable grouch. He was a sensitive and soft-hearted guy who hid his vulnerability beneath a crust of misanthropy. A great problem-solver, he couldn't understand why everyone did not see what he saw so clearly. He eased the pain by turning hurt into humor. Offense was his only defense. His weapons were irony, satire, sarcasm and ridicule; his targets were pretense, pomposity, conformity and incompetence.
Survivors include his wife, Connie, whom he married on Feb. 17, 1962; his beloved brother-in-law, Tony Fassell of Greenfield; two daughters, Deborah Brooks of Watertown and Allyson Towler Grayman and her husband Stephen of Sharon; two sons, Michael and his wife Jennifer of North Adams and David of Wilmington, Vt.; eight grandchildren: Jesse Grayman of Indonesia, Ethan and Jacob Towler-Grayman of Sharon and Pvt. 1st Class Samuel Grayman of the U.S. Marines, Mae Star Towler-Salinsky and her husband Matthew of Los Angeles, Calif., Nathan Towler of Wilmington, Vt., Grace and Charlotte Towler of North Adams; three brothers, Vincent of Hollister, Calif., Gerald and Paul and his wife Claudia, all of Worcester, as well as several nieces and nephews.
A memorial Mass will be celebrated next Thursday (Nov. 3) at 10 a.m. in Holy Trinity Church, 133 Main St., with Monsignor Ronald G. Yargeau, pastor, officiating. Burial will be at the convenience of the family in St. John's Cemetery in Worcester.
There are no calling hours.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Holy Trinity Church c/o Memorial Fund, 133 Main St., Greenfield, MA 01301 or to Soldiers Home in Holyoke, 110 Cherry St., Holyoke, MA 01040.