Joseph Kurylo

Joseph Kurylo, age 97 years, of Ringoes, NJ, died on Sunday, February 23, 2020 in the Hunterdon Care Center, Raritan Township, NJ. Joe was born January 17, 1923 in Jersey City, NJ to immigrant parents Theodore and Eudokia Kurylo. The family moved to Ringoes in 1929 and ran a gas station for many years. He was a 1941 graduate of Flemington High School, where he met the love of his life, Lenora Matthews. Just like many men coming of age in the 1940’s, he enlisted and served in the United States Army Air Force, like his older brother John. Joe served as a radio operator on a B29 during World War II. When Joe had a chance, he married Lenora, then a nursing student, at Scott Air Base in Illinois. This was a bit unusual as nursing students weren’t allowed to marry. They were granted special permission since Joe was enlisted and it was expected that he would be shipping off to war soon. After his military service, Joe came back to Ringoes and sons Robert and William were born a few years later. Joe was a talented carpenter. He worked for many years with his brother, John, and his father building many houses in and around Ringoes. He later joined the Carpenter’s Union Local 781 in Princeton, NJ. He retired in 1988. Life was greatly enjoyed after retirement with regular golf outings, gatherings with friends, and trips around the United States. They spent winters in Florida, and taking the grandchildren camping until they got too old for it to be cool. Joe was greatly involved in the community over the years. He was a retired member and former Chief of the Amwell Valley Volunteer Fire Company where his son, Bill, now serves. He was a charter member of the Amwell Valley Rescue Squad; retired member of Flemington Elks Lodge #1928; and member of the East Amwell Seniors. He was predeceased by his wife of seventy-two years, Lenora Matthews Kurylo, in 2016, and by a granddaughter, Caitlin Kurylo, in 2018. Surviving are his two sons and daughters-in-law, Bob and Barbara Kurylo, and Bill and Patricia Kurylo; grandkids: Jessica, Timothy (Nicole), Jodi Reed (Daniel), and Robert, Jr.; and great-grandchildren: Anthony and Hailey Kurylo, and Lucas, Devon, and Ethan Reed. Funeral services will be held on Friday, February 28, 2020 at 11 AM in the Holcombe-Fisher Funeral Home, 147 Main Street, Flemington, NJ. Interment will follow in Union Cemetery, Ringoes, NJ. Visitation will be held on Friday from 10 AM until time of service in the funeral home. Memorial contributions, in lieu of flowers, may ne made to the Amwell Valley Fire Company, PO Box 76, Ringoes, NJ 08551, or to the Alzheimer’s Foundation, 322 Eighth Ave., 7th Floor, New York, NY 10001. Please visit www.holcombefisher.com for further information, or to send condolences.