Joseph Peter Paladino Jr

Joseph P. Paladino Jr., went to be with his Lord surrounded by his wife (married in 1965) of 59 years and three sons on February 5th. Joe was a much beloved husband, father, Papa, son, brother who was known for his generosity of spirit, faith in Jesus Christ and steadiness in all the roles that the Lord placed him in while he was on earth. Joe was born May 31st, 1942 in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He was the oldest of three boys born to his parents Joseph (Sr.) and Angeline (Dinovo) Paladino. He was the proud graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School. Joe enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1960 and was posted on the Freedom mine sweeper whose home port was Osaka Japan. He served honorably for three years. After returning back stateside, Joe began what became a long and successful career with United Parcel Service Inc. With his first role as a part time truck washer Joe had a successful career in the Nebraska Division of UPS during which he was eventually promoted into management and served as center manager for the Winner South Dakota and Valentine, Norfolk and Columbus Nebraska regional delivery hubs. In addition, during the final few years of his UPS career he worked out of the Omaha office and managed air operations based at Eppley Airfield in Omaha. After retiring from UPS in 1993 Joe continued his transportation career by driving school buses for Laidlaw Transportation. During this time period Joe was also involved in several entrepreneurial ventures in the Omaha area including: A-1 Dependable Vending, Print and Pac, Nucorp Real Estate, Accent Limousine and Suzy’s Cafe. In 1998 he was a founding partner alongside his son David of the Dinos Storage self-storage business which has now grown to own and operate, twenty-two (22) self -storage facilities, containing 12,000 units and 1.5 million square feet of self-storage located in Nebraska, Iowa as well as Winnipeg in Manitoba Canada. Joe had a well-earned reputation for punctuality, professional driving and in the days before GPS, being able to drive directly to any given address in the eastern third of Nebraska due to his experience and knowledge of the streets. Joe’s greatest love since he laid eyes on her was his wife, Therese, with whom he was married for 59 years. After initially meeting on a blind date, Joseph became quickly smitten with Therese and managed to impress his eventual bride and soon to be in-laws with his warmth of spirit, work ethic, earnestness as well as his Catholic faith. Joe and Therese had a very robust and active union. During the early years of their marriage, they lived in the Dundee neighborhood of Omaha and eventually settled into the Riverside Lakes development in Waterloo. In between they lived in Council Bluffs, Ralston, Valentine and Norfolk Nebraska, following Joe’s UPS career. Joe and Therese made friends with other couples easily along the way. They frequently traveled together and spent time in Italy and the Holy Land as well as many trips with their children and Grandchildren including memorable trips to Hawaii, Alaska, Jamaica, the Bahamas and Cozumel in addition to extensive travel throughout the United States. Joe loved participating in and watching sports. An avid bowler and softball league participant during his working years, he also coached several of his sons recreational soccer and flag football teams. He was a life-long golfer carrying on the tradition from his own father. He shared his love of the sport with his brothers, sons and grandchildren and there was no other way he would rather spend a summer morning than at the course. He also made it a point to make it to many sporting events and extracurricular activities of his sons and grandchildren. A husker football season ticket holder since 1996 he was a big fan of the Huskers, the UNO Mavericks as well as the Creighton Bluejays. Joe was a regular attender at the Elkhorn Eagles Club Thursday steak and scouting dinners where a current Husker coach would come to break down film from the prior weeks game while also providing a scouting report for the upcoming opponent. Joe and Therese from early on in their marriage were very involved in the Catholic Church in every town they lived in. They were heavily involved in Engaged Encounter and Marriage Encounter ministries of the Church as well as Cursillo. In addition, Joe was a member of the Knights of Columbus Catholic service club since 1980 all the way until he passed away, most recently actively serving the club affiliated with St. John’s Church in Valley Nebraska. Joe was an active volunteer in several organizations throughout his life including: Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Rotary, Teammates. St Vincent de Paul Society as well as Bethlehem House. Joe had a deep Catholic faith and relationship with his savior Jesus Christ. Joe and Therese have been members of several Catholic parishes over the years including: St. Patrick’s in Council Bluffs, St. Geralds in Ralston, St. Nicholas in Valentine, St. Mary’s in Norfolk as well as and St. Patricks in Elkhorn and St. Johns in Valley respectively. Due to declining health and accelerating dementia, Joe spent his last three months at Legato residential memory care. Joe’s family would like to express their heartfelt appreciation for the remarkable professional and compassionate care that he received in his final days from the caregivers at Legato Five Fountains, Legato Legacy as well as the professionals affiliated with the hospice agency St. Croix. He embodied his faith in the manner in which he lived every day of his life. He was almost universally well-liked by everyone he worked with and befriended. His award-winning people and management skills were legendary. He loved others deeply, felt an immense obligation to give back to others, all the while giving all the credit to Jesus Christ. Joseph’s legacy will live on through his family and close friends and all those he impacted throughout his life. He will be dearly missed by all. Joseph was preceded in death by his parents Joseph Sr. and Angeline, his brother Frank, and his son David Paladino. He is survived by his loving wife Therese, his daughter in law Lisa Paladino of Omaha Nebraska, and his sons Kevin (Cindy) Paladino of Lubbock, Texas, Jason (Ranelle) Paladino of Peoria, Arizona and Luke (Angie) Paladino of Papillion, Nebraska. He is also survived by eleven grandchildren: Megan, Dalton, Cameron, Zechariah, Michael, Alexander, Ila, Halle, Joseph, Erik and Trevor. Joseph was also blessed in more recent years with seven great grandchildren: Piper, Chloe, Keller, Phoebe, Naomi, A’Lori and Alexander. Joe is also survived by his brother Jerry (Karen) Paladino, as well as his nephew Nick (Alison) Paladino and nieces Kristine (Joe) Shera, Pamela (Justin) Smith and Amy (Earl) Strohm. Memorials are suggested to The Down Syndrome Alliance of the Midlands or The Special Olympics of Nebraska.

Joseph Peter Paladino Jr

May 31, 1942 - February 5, 2025