Joseph Nicholas Petner

Joseph Nicholas Petner, age 95 of Zionsville, IN, died Thursday, August 28, 2014 in Zionsville Meadows Assisted Living Facility. Joe was born on December 3, 1918, to Stephano and Ethel Petner in Tiltonsville, OH. He is predeceased by his two sisters, Grace Kantor andIrene Meszaros, and survived by a brother, Stephen, who lives in Rock Hill,SC. He was married on May 28, 1944, to Marie Ferrara. They enjoyed fifty years of marriage until her death in 1994. Joe was a long standing resident of Woodstown since 1945. He lived in the Woodstown area until he moved in 2010 to Indiana near his daughter, Joyce Wyatt. He leaves behind his son, Joseph Jr. (Jody Damiani), his daughter, Joyce (Ron Wyatt), and son Stephen (Nikki Kamai). He was grandfather to Brian and Ben Wyatt, Allison Petner Watts and Caroline Petner Ortiz, and Daniel, Mark, and Emma Petner. He was also great-grandfather to Brianna, Katelyn, and Nikolas Wyatt, Jacob and Lilly Watts, and Nicholas Ortiz. Joe served in the Army during WWII. He was assigned to the medical corps as a paramedic and was trained as an x-ray lab technician. He was stationed at Walter Reed General Hospital in Washington, DC, and honorably discharged from Fort Wadsworth in Staten Island, New York. Joe was well known and respected in the Salem County area for his work as an x-ray and medical lab technician. He worked for the late Dr. Frank L. Perry for fifteen years and then for the late Dr. Frank Xhilone until Joe retired in 1982. He enjoyed life to the fullest. He played baseball for the Army Olympics team in 1942 and also played for the Woodstown Team. He was a skilled bowler and drew a crowd of spectators at Wood Lanes to watch his "side arm" style. He and Marie enjoyed dancing, playing cards, trips to Ocean City and Wildwood, and visiting their children and grandchildren in Indiana, Massachusetts, and Hawaii. Joe was also a member of the New Jersey Horsemen Association and an owner of several horses that raced at local harness race tracks in the area. Joe was a member of the Woodstown American Legion and the Woodstown Moose Lodge #932. He enjoyed his last days as a resident of the Zionsville Meadows Assisted Living facility where he served as President of the Residents Association. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 9 AM on Saturday, September 6th in the Catholic Community of the Holy Spirit Church, 51 Broad St., Woodstown, NJ. A viewing will be held from 4 to 8 PM Friday evening at the H.T. LAYTON FUNERAL HOME, 102 S. Main St., Woodstown. Burial will be in the church cemetery. In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in memory of Joseph Petner to support cancer research and patient care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, PO Box 849168, Boston, MA, 02284 or a charity of the donor's choice. Please visit www.htlayton.com to leave a note of condolence to the family. Arrangements are by the H.T. LAYTON FUNERAL HOME & CREMATION SERVICE, 856.769.1515.