Joseph W. Ullman

Joseph William Ullman

October 9, 1934 – October 31, 2019

Joseph William Ullman passed away peacefully on October 31, 2019 from complications related to congestive heart failure. Born in Brooklyn, New York on October 9, 1934, he was the second son of Albert Ullman and Catherine Ullman (nee Ford). Albert, a jeweler, died when Joseph was an infant, and Catherine, a homemaker, passed away when Joseph was a teen. Joseph then lived with his grandmother Ellen “Nan” Garrity and other relatives. Joseph and brother Albert had beautiful voices and sang with the choir of St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church in Crown Heights, Brooklyn.

After graduating from St. Augustine High School, Joseph earned a bachelors’ degree in accounting from St. John’s University in New York City. A man who dearly loved his country, Joseph proudly served for several years in the Army of the United States and the Reserve of the United States Marine Corps.

Joseph and Frances Pauline Mahon met in their teens and married in 1958. They celebrated their 61st wedding anniversary in September 2019. They have three children – Robert (Megan), Christopher (Kristen) and Susan (late Michael), and six grandchildren – Derek, Grayson, Sophie, Alydia, Justus and Aria Noel.

Joseph began his career in the finance department at the American Sugar Company in New York City. From there he moved to CBS, the national news organization, commuting daily to Manhattan from the family home in Massapequa Park, Long Island. He then accepted a position at Grumman Aerospace Corporation, focused on finance and accounting. He proudly worked on projects related to military aircraft, including the F-14 Tomcat and E-2C Hawkeye.

In 1983 Joseph and Frances left their native New York for Charlottesville, VA where they opened the Yogurt Garden, a lovely sandwich, soup and frozen yogurt restaurant. Soon after, Joseph secured a position as Assistant Vice President of Administrative Computing at The University of Virginia. Joseph retired from UVA and he and Frances then made their home in several different places, including Cape Cod, MA, Colorado Springs, CO, Orlando, FL, and Alexandria, VA.

Joseph was a committed Catholic whose life was centered around his faith. For many years he attended daily Mass and was devoted to our Lord, the Blessed Mother and St. Joseph, who all gave him great strength and hope. Joseph taught CCD for years in Massapequa Park and was a lector and Eucharistic Minister on Long Island and in Charlottesville, Cape Cod and Colorado Springs.

Joseph and Frances went on several pilgrimages: The Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland; Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico; Medjugorje in Yugoslavia and Lourdes in France. They started the Medjugorje Prayer Group in Charlottesville that continued for seven years until they moved to Cape Cod.

Joseph was committed to the pro-life cause, attending marches and activities across the years.

He loved his Brooklyn Dodgers and even got to see the great Jackie Robinson play. A natural athlete, Joseph was in his glory playing stickball in Massapequa Park and softball on Cape Cod.

In addition to his spouse, children and grandchildren, Joseph is survived by his brother Albert F. Ullman and his wife Claire, and many nieces, nephews and cousins.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a gift to Warrior 2 Warrior, a wonderful organization that provides veterans in need with intensive physical rehabilitation and peer to peer mentorship: https://www.warrior2warrior.org.

A funeral mass will be offered on November 19, 2019 at 10:30 a.m. at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church, 1427 West Braddock Road, Alexandria, VA 22302.