Joseph U. Lahr, age 91, passed away peacefully on December 8, 2025 in Fort Wayne, IN. The only child of Shaler and Rose (Converset) Lahr born February 17, 1934 in Huntington. He attended Central Catholic HS and was a BF Goodrich retiree. His was a life well and fully lived and he knew it. As he put it: “I burned the candle at both ends, if this is where it meets in the middle, I’m good.” He was truly a man of many talents and many interests. He could build or fix anything, and with his wife Pat, was always renovating some part of a house or cottage. He loved teaching and showing his kids and grandkids what he was doing. He liked to travel all over the country to visit family, friends and sight see. He loved the lake life (fishing, boating, snowmobiles, maintenance and repair), attending Komets and TinCaps games and NASCAR races. He had a passion for convertibles, and his cars were always spotless. In his younger days, he loved to slalom ski around Lake James, taking off from the pier in his “Go to Hell” hat, with a cigar in his mouth and a beer in his hand (“hit it Pat!”), then successfully landing back on the beach walking out of his ski on dry land. He could ride a bicycle backwards by sitting on the handlebars. He would tell stories about his childhood, always starting out with “when I was a little girl…”, much to the delight of all the little girls. Joe was outside most of the time doing something. The neighborhood kids would stop by and say, “what are you doing?”. He also played a mean game of Ping Pong, Pool, Monopoly, Euchre and Rummy, too. You had to earn your wins!

He created the most competitive Easter Egg Hunt ever, with eggs hidden in plain sight, but super hard to find! (Okay, maybe a little harder for the “shorties” among us.) “The Easter Bunny” came up with ever more clever hiding places each year. That hunt became a beloved family tradition from the inception and will remain one for many years to come.

Most of his life he was surrounded by “his girls,” his wife, three daughters and mother-in-law. His “girl gang” grew with four granddaughters, and five great granddaughters. He loved all of his “grands,” but found a “partner in crime” with his grandson Joey (named after him, no less). They were often found together, fishing, teaching Joey to drive the Cub Cadet (out of “turtle” speed) or the big green tractor (before he could even reach the pedals), shooting BB guns, driving the boat, snowmobile, and falling asleep in chairs after a family dinner.

He was an animal lover through and through. He loved every dog who ever owned him, and they all loved him back, not to mention his many “grand dogs” that he loved like his own, but special mention goes to Queenie, Bunny, Wilma, Charlie, Dobie, Wiggles and Socks. He often had a dog in his lap at family gatherings and in practically every photo we have of him. He was always rescuing animals by the side of the road – Several became longtime family pets; Myrtle the Pigeon, a parakeet, two huge snapping turtles, a field mouse and box turtles.

For many years he worked at May Stone and Sand, driving his big yellow dump truck, and BF Goodrich. When he finally retired, he took on parttime jobs that always turned into full time positions. He drove the CTN Bus for the “elderly” until he was 80. For the better part of 25 years he worked two full time jobs, and still managed in his spare time to maintain a beautiful yard and make many of Pat’s great design ideas come to life - fixing, planting, painting, installing, building, or renovating! They were a force together.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Patricia (Parks) Lahr; children, Jolene (Richard) Marchand, Marilyn Lahr, Kathy Gonya (Tony, deceased); granddaughters, Aimee (Jason) Slone, Jennifer (Michael) Domenico, Julie (Justin) York, and Georgia Lahr, his one and only grandson Joey Marschand; and 6 great-grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his parents, Shaler and Rose (Converset) Lahr, his father and mother-in-law, George and Tempa Parks, and son-in-law, Anthony “Tony” Gonya.