Joseph Gerald Cesario

Joseph Gerald Cesario was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 16, 1940, the first child of Victor and Phyllis Cesario. Joe grew up in a large close-knit extended family in an Italian neighborhood on the Southside of Chicago. He attended Archbishop Weber High School where he lettered in football. Joe then joined the U.S. Army and while stationed in Felicity, Ohio met his wife of 60 years, Regina (née Weber). After leaving the military Joe and Regina made their home and raised their three children in the Northwest suburbs of Chicago. Joe was a member of St. Zachary Parish and was enthusiastically involved in parish activities from organizing and cooking the annual Spaghetti Dinner to producing and performing musical and comedy acts for the annual parish vaudeville-style showcase fundraiser “Port of Call.” Joe was an Industrial Trainer for General Electric for 38 years, living and working in Chicago, Kansas City, and finally Louisville. Joe and Regina then retired to St. Augustine, Florida. He is preceded in passing by his wife Regina A. Cesario, his parents, parents-in-law Alfred and Frances Weber, and sisters-in-law Margaret (Jerry) St. Clair, and Joan (Richard) Sheets. Joe is survived by his three children, Rosemary Cesario (Allan Towell) of Mount Laguna, California, Victor Cesario of the world, and Regina Shankland (John) of Portland, Oregon, daughter-in-law Heather Smith of Carbondale, Illinois, and by his three grandchildren, Carmella Cesario, Chloe Shankland, and Avery Shankland. He is lovingly remembered by his siblings, Lydia Cesario of Stuart, Florida and Victor Cesario Jr. of Aliso Viejo, California, and his in-laws Loretta (Tom) Osborne, Rosemary (Bill) Evans, Marilyn (Paul) Beumi, Virginia (Larry) Holton, John (Cindy) Weber, Sharon (Robert) Mills. Interment is at Jacksonville National Cemetery on July 1, 2024, at 11 am.

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