Joseph Matthew Petrulionis
Joseph Matthew Petrulionis, 65, died at his home in Canton, New York on August 24, of cancer and complications from treatments. Joe was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Joseph Matthew Petrulionis, Jr. and Lois Carolyn Hunter. Over his life, he also lived in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Germany, and, finally, in the North Country of New York. Joe’s life was saturated with intellectual curiosity and spirited pursuit across many fields, arts, and trades. He earned a B.S. from University of Maryland in Management and an M.A. in History from Indiana University of Pennsylvania; he also completed extensive graduate study in Economic History at Georgia State University. From 1981 to 1985, he served in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence analyst and was stationed at Fort Stewart, Georgia and in Nuremberg, Germany. Later, in Atlanta, Georgia, Joe worked for several years in international banking and corporate finance. After relocating to central Pennsylvania with his family in 1996, he owned a small music store in Altoona. It was in the Penn State Altoona classroom as an Instructor of Philosophy and History, however, that Joe discovered his driving purpose and natural talent as he inspired young adults to develop a capacity for critical thinking and to establish their own well-informed basis for empathy, tolerance, and justice. His favorite classes to teach were Introduction to Ethics, The Theory of Knowledge, and American History at all levels, especially the Civil Rights era. Joe’s deep-rooted patriotism was based on honestly confronting our nation’s inclusive and complicated history—and, when needed, accepting the moral imperative of former Congressman John Lewis to “Get in good trouble, necessary trouble, and help redeem the soul of America.” Joe’s good-natured sarcasm, entertaining lectures, insightful analysis, and generous advice made his courses among the most popular on campus; for many students, Joe was not only their favorite professor but became a lifelong friend and mentor.
As an adolescent, Joe played the classical guitar; later, he learned the art of the folk guitar and enjoyed playing old time music with local fiddlers and banjo pickers. He sought solace and adventure in the natural world and enjoyed hiking, backpacking, and camping—from the Smoky Mountains to the Maine Woods, from the Scottish Highlands to the Tirolian Alps. For Joe, bass fishing was a mental workout as well as a physical pursuit, and he thrived on the lakes of Florida, Pennsylvania, and Maine, sniffing out large-mouth bass in his canoe and beloved Crestliner. Joe read voraciously, relishing the novels of his favorite author, William Faulkner; as well as poetry; ancient epics, especially Homer’s Iliad; linguistic and cultural studies; narrative history; and radio antenna propagation. As a zealous gardener, Joe experimented with various horticultural techniques, meticulously working every year for an improved potato crop, more rows of green beans than the prior year, enough asparagus to share with friends, and flavor-packed peaches, plums, and cherries. He also bred unique iris cultivars, which inspired him to write an annual “parade of irises” on his blog to showcase the unique flowers that bloomed each year. Joe was a founding member of the Society for U.S. Intellectual History, and a member of central Pennsylvania amateur radio clubs and held an Amateur Extra Class license.
Joe Petrulionis leaves this world a more compassionate and thoughtful place. He will remain a shielding immortal presence for those who loved him. Joe is survived by his wife of 45 years, Sandy; daughter, Laurel; son in-law, Kris Klotz; brother, Mark Heimendinger (Tammy); and loving nieces and nephews. He was pre-deceased by two brothers, Stephen Petrulionis and Michael Petrulionis. A teacher to the end, Joe donated his body for research to the SUNY Upstate Medical University. To honor Joe and his belief in our collective responsibility to nurture a caring and ethically responsible world, the family suggests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions be made to Doctors without Borders, the International Rescue Committee, the Equal Justice Initiative, the American Shakespeare Center, the Alliance for Higher Education in Prison, or the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
