Joseph W. Karoly, formerly of Bryn Mawr, PA., passed away on April 4, 2007 at Waverly Heights in Gladwyne, PA. He was 80.
He was born May 16, 1926, the son of Lidwina and Joseph Karoly, and brother of Ada who pre-deceased him. Raised in the 1-mile square industrial town of Harrison, NJ., he attended local schools. Always interested in music beginning with the piano at age 7, he taught himself to play the trombone so he could be in the high school band. He was even leader of the band during his senior year when the director joined the Navy during World War II.
After graduation from Harrison High in 1944, he enlisted in the US Navy where he served 2 years. Honorably discharged, he enrolled in the NYU prestigious music program. Upon discovering that he was tone deaf, he sought another career. He enrolled as an accounting major in Seton Hall College School of Business, a discipline he considered to be one of the school's toughest. In 1950, after just three years, he earned his BS degree. At the same time, Seton Hall attained university status.
Joe joined the manufacturing / accounting division at the RCA Electron Tube Division in Harrison. Soon Solid State technology was introduced which made for very exciting times for electronic components. It offered cost advantages, plus size flexibility and design for such products as consumer TV's, radios, computers, etc. Recognizing this trend, Joe mentally removed himself from the limitation of vacuum tubes, and placed himself squarely in the path of transistors, the new technology.
From 1956-1959, he assisted in the start-up of a Semiconductor division in the Somerville, NJ. plant. It led to a transfer to the RCA plant in Findlay, OH., as a member of the team that started up a Solid State operation. That plant became the bellwether for discrete and integrated circuits used in small signal devices, such as the expanding wristwatch market. When the group achieved divisional status, he was named the Vice-President of Finance and Management Information Systems.
In March, 1973, he was named Division Vice-President of Solid State Europe, headquartered in Sunbury-on-Thames, England, where he was responsible for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. It was scheduled to be a 3 year stay, but in October 1974, he was recruited to return to the U.S. to manage the Consumer Services Group of the RCA Service Company in Cherry Hill, NJ. Eighteen months later, he was named President of that division.
By early 1981, he was Vice-President of Financial and Planning, working in NY for RCA Communications at Rockefeller Plaza. In 1984, he was sent to Memphis, TN, for three months to bolster a Communications network there. He stayed for fourteen months before being transferred to Sao Paulo, Brazil, as President of RCA Electronica, LTD. That too was scheduled to be a 3 year stay, but in January 1987, GE Company bought RCA. After a 37 year career with RCA, Joe was retired at age 62.
Still physically active and business-oriented, he eventually joined the International Executive Service Corp. developled by David Rockefeller. Its function was to bring retired business people to developing countries to advise on conversion from a Demand to a Market System. His first assignment was in Poland early in 1991 just after the end of the Cold War. There he taught Business 101 to a television manufacturer, an assignment that was made a little less complex because, for some reason, Communist Russia had allowed Poland certain liberties when it came to such things as business practices, religion and so forth.
His next assignment was 9 months in Russia beginning in early 1993 after the breakup of the Soviet Union. Fighting established Communist norms was a whole different ballgame. It was frustrating at times, but none the less satisfying. His last IESC project was 2 months in Panama at the end of 1996, where he advised on structure and control with another television manufacturer.
As for his personal life, he met his wife, Ruth Kotaski, in high school, and they were married in September of 1949. In 1975 they made their final move to Pennsylvania where he joined the Philadelphia Country Club, with golf, bowling, and bridge, his primary activities. He was also a life-long lover of hearing and telling jokes with a superb grasp of ethnic accents.
Over the years, they adopted three children, Lisa, Martha and Joseph. Lisa died of lung cancer in 1997 one month after giving birth to her son. Joe's health began to sharply deteriorate after that, resulting in Parkinson's disease, unsuccessful spinal surgery, and eye problems. Besides his wife and children, he is survived by four grandchildren, CJ, Megan, Shannon and Grayson, and three step-grandchildren Kyle, Conor and Isabella.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday April 10, 1:00 PM at St. John Vianney Church, Youngsford & Conshohocken State Rds., Gladwyne, PA. Relatives and friends may call at the Church after 12 Noon. Interment is private.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Parkinson Council Inc., P.O. Box 1948, Media, PA 19063 or to Odyssey Hospice, 512 Township Line Rd., Valley Square Bldg. 2, Suite 305, Blue Bell, PA 19422.