Published: November 02, 2009 11:10 pm      

Obituary: Chief believed in second chances

CRESSON — Joe Stasik, a longtime police officer in the Mainline area credited with giving teens a second chance when they got into trouble, died over the weekend following a battle with cancer.

Mr. Stasik, of Cresson, was 76.

He was remembered by friends and family as someone who was reliable, had a reputation for hard work and believed in second chances.

“I’ve known Joe for 25 years. He was a good man, and he’s going to be missed,” Carrolltown police Chief Dave Murphy said Monday. “He was actively involved in police associations. He was a big part of our organizations.”

At the time of his death, Mr. Stasik was president of the Mainline Police Association and a life member of the Fraternal Order of Police Hemlock Lodge 101.

His commitment to law enforcement was paramount, said those who knew and worked with him.

Mr. Stasik served as Gallitzin Township chief of police for 20 years and as a Gallitzin Borough police officer for 28 years.

He also worked as a PennDOT bridge inspector for 30 years before retiring in 1994.

Despite a long career in law enforcement, he never lost faith in people, especially teenagers, who he tried to steer in the right direction, said his wife of

51 years, the former Dorothy Weber.

Cambria County Commissioner Milan Gjurich, a Penn Cambria High School principal for 22 years, said dependability was important to Mr. Stasik.

“He was reliable. I could always count on him,” Mr. Gjurich said Monday.

Mr. Stasik worked for the district from 1966 to 2008 as supervisor of extracurricular activities, coordinating police services for district sporting events.

“The students knew his expectations for their behavior,” Mr. Gjurich said.

“I considered Joe a personal friend of mine.”

Work was second nature for Mr. Stasik, something his wife and children accepted.

“When we got married, he said I was to raise the kids and he would work,” Mrs. Stasik said.

“I was the mother and the father, but we had an excellent life.”

About the only time Mr. Stasik would not work was on Friday the 13th.

“He was very superstitious. He never wanted the number 13 anywhere near him,” his wife said. “He took vacation days on Friday the 13th and he wouldn’t leave the house.”

Black cats also meant trouble, he thought.

One fall a black cat ran across a dirt road near Syberton when Mr. Stasik was taking his sons hunting.

“He couldn’t go on. It was snowing and he couldn’t turn around, so he backed down that road three miles and took a different road to go hunting,” his wife said.

Mr. Stasik was diagnosed with cancer in 2001 and began a long course of doctors and treatment that appeared at times to be working.

But in March he started losing mobility in his legs and his condition gradually worsened, Mrs. Stasik said.

While the cancer had spread to much of his body, Mr. Stasik remained mentally alert and put off going to the hospital as long as possible. By early Friday morning, he was no longer able to breathe on his own and agreed to have the ambulance called, she said.

He died Saturday at Altoona Regional Health System.

“He said, ‘I’m ready to die. I had a good life, I did everything I wanted to do’,” Mrs. Stasik said.

In addition to his wife, Mr. Stasik is survived by three sons, Edward, Daniel and Ronald, all of Cresson; a daughter, Dorothy Jo Fulton of Duncansville; and six grandchildren.

Friends will be received from 2 to 9 p.m. today at the Gibbons Funeral Home, 301 Church St., Gallitzin. A memorial service by the Mainline Police Association of Cambria County and FOP Hemlock Lodge 101 is set for 7 tonight at the funeral home.

A funeral Mass is planned for 11 a.m. Wednesday at St. Aloysius Catholic Church, Cresson, with committal at St. Francis Xavier Cemetery, Cresson.