Joseph Adam Baj II passed away unexpectedly on January 4, 2009, surrounded by his loving family. He was born on February 8, 1927 to Joseph and Agnes Baj in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and is preceded in death by his parents, his brother Adam and sisters Julia, Pearl and Helen. He is survived by Catherine, his wife of fifty-seven years, his daughter Nina, son Joseph III, brother John and his wife Mary Rose, and other relatives and close friends.
Joe proudly served his country during World War II, joining the United States Army Air Force in 1942 two months before his sixteenth birthday. He initially trained as a mechanic before being accepted into Officer Candidate School and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant after graduating. At the time of his honorable discharge in November 1945, he was serving as a Flight Officer and Bombardier-Navigator.
Joe studied commercial art before attending Geneva College in Beaver Falls, PA where he met his wife Catherine, and subsequently earned a B.A. in Mathematics and Physics in 1955 from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio. He taught high school math and physics in various schools in Ohio and then went on to earn a National Science Foundation grant to the University of Texas at Austin and other grants to continue his education at Hiram College and Purdue University. He graduated with an M.A. in Mathematics from U.T. in 1964, and completed graduate work towards his Ph.D. at the University of Houston.
Joe and his family moved to Beaumont in 1965 upon his acceptance as professor of Mathematics at Lamar University. Joe loved teaching mathematics and served the Lamar University community for thirty-three years, including as faculty advisor to Pi Mu Epsilon mathematics honor society and the mathematics club, before retiring in December 1997. He had many fond memories of his students and his colleagues and enjoyed watching Lamar change and grow over the years. Joe really enjoyed his family, especially during times spent playing Scrabble and other board games, and enjoyed crossword puzzles and movies.
Visitation will be held at Broussard=s, 1605 N. Major Drive, Beaumont on January 8, 2009 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. A celebration of his life will be held at Broussard’s on January 9, 2009 at 10:00 a.m., followed by burial at Forest Lawn Memorial Park.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Anayat House, P.O. Box 5934, Beaumont, TX 77726-5934, which provides overnight accommodations for family members of patients staying at hospitals in Beaumont.
The family would like to thank all his friends for all their kindnesses, especially good neighbors Danny and Paula Patterson, Steve and Charlene Meek, and good friends Charles and Sue Lauffer, Mary Louise Crim and Irene and Jim Chesnutt. In addition, we would like to say many thanks to Dr. Ronald Galfione, his long time physician, Dr. Nadim Nazir, Dr. Harry Price, all of the fine doctors and nurses at Methodist Hospital in Houston for their tremendous care, and a special thanks to Chaplain Chuck Hawkins of the Methodist Hospital for his empathy and kindness to the family.
