Joseph LaGuardia

Joe LaGuardia was a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but for more than 40 years was an Indians fan in Cleveland. He was married to Bernadette LaGuardia (née Barrett) and they had two children: his son, Jonathan, lives in Tucson and is working on his doctoral dissertation in English Literature; his daughter, Jeannine, lives in Buffalo with her husband Dinesh, and gave him two beautiful grandchildren who are now six and three.

Joe had two Master's Degrees, one in English Literature and one in Religious Studies. For most of his career, he served as a Principal and Assistant Principal in Cleveland area high schools, including Lake Catholic High School, Beachwood High School, Orange High School, and Chagrin Falls High School.

Joe was the Dean of the Cleveland Ecumenical Institute for Religious Studies. At Ursuline College, he taught Philosophy and served as Director and Assistant Director of the Programs for Advanced Studies in Education. He also served as Interim Associate Dean of the School of Graduate and Professional Studies. In August 2013, he became the Coordinator for the Assessment of Student Learning for the college.

Joe was often asked to preach at Heights Christian Church in Shaker Heights, where he also conducted a weekly Bible study. He published a book of poetry called LIFE SEASONS, and shared his biblical and spiritual reflections on his website, biblicaljoe.com.

Joe loved music and was a talented musician. He once played the organ at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; sang at Carnegie Hall and on stages in London, Oxford, and Belgium; and stood with his wife, Bernadette, as members of the Cleveland Orchestra Chorus.

Joe is the son of Joseph R. and Anna L. LaGuardia (née McKenna)

He is survived by his loving wife Bernadette, his son Jonathan, his daughter Jeannine Joseph (Dinesh Joseph), and two grandchildren Eloise and Franklin.

He is also survived by his brother David LaGuardia (Lisa Mencini); his sisters Barbara Medveckus (Joseph Medveckus) and Mary Monsour (William Monsour); and his nephews & nieces: Michael LaGuardia (Greet), Lisa LaGuardia (Mark), Shauna Nuzzo (Michael), Rebecca Bewtra (Ron), Melissa Lane (Michael), Christiane Davenport (Andrew), Laurie Gallen, James Gallen (Farrah), and Matthew Monsour.

The family prefers that those who wish may make contributions in his name to Heights Christian Church, 17300 Van Aken Blvd., Shaker Hts., OH 44120 or The Cleveland Ecumenical Institute for Religious Studies, c/o 2747 Fairmount Blvd., Cleveland Hts., OH 44106. Memorial Services will be held at Heights Christian Church on Wednesday, October 18 at 11:00 AM. FRIENDS MAY CALL AT BROWN-FORWARD, 17022 CHAGRIN BLVD., SHAKER HTS., OH 44120 ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17 FROM 2-4 AND 6-8 PM.