Joseph A. Lovasco

At 87 years young, Joseph A. Lovasco, of Gloucester, passed away unexpectedly on November 16, 2024, at the Seacoast Nursing Home & Rehabilitation Center in Gloucester.
Born in Gloucester on March 3, 1937, Joe attended St. Anne's High School, where he was a star basketball player, winning many championships, and was awarded MVP for 1953 and 1954. A few months after graduation, Joe enlisted in the United States Air Force. He completed his basic training at Sampson Air Force Base in Geneva, New York and then went on to Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi for training. When training was completed, he was transferred to Germany for three years. He was part of the 604th ACF Con & Wing Squadron, where he was a Ground Radio Operator. He was awarded the National Defense Service Medal and Good Conduct Medal. He played for his squadron's basketball team traveling all over Germany.
After returning to Gloucester, he went fishing with different vessels along the eastern seacoast and worked on various wharves for a few years before joining the Gloucester Police Force. Over 24 years, he worked his way up from a beat cop to detective. Joe continued learning and obtained a degree from New Hampshire College. A few years after retirement and many trips to Pahrump, Nevada, to play golf, he decided to move to Pahrump, where he lived for 25 years before returning permanently to Gloucester in 2021.
Joe was a guy's guy. In addition to his love of basketball and sports in general, he loved to play golf and would play daily. He was a member of the Bass Rocks Golf Club for over 20 years, where he won numerous golf tournaments, as well as the Mountain Falls Golf Club in Pahrump, Nevada. He was a lifetime member of the Elks Club and a member of the St. Peter's Club. Joe was a regular at the Cape Ann Veteran's Friday Coffee Social and was always one of the first to arrive and would enjoy socializing with his fellow veterans. He enjoyed and excelled at playing cribbage and blackjack, whether at the Senior Center or Elks Club. Joe had a fantastic sense of humor. Until his passing, he always remained witty and provided his family with many great memories.
He is survived by his brother, Sebastian Lovasco Jr. of Las Vegas, Nevada; his niece and caregiver, Lucy Russo of Gloucester; and many other nieces, nephews, great-nieces and nephews, and great-great-nieces and nephews.
He was predeceased by his parents, Sebastiano and Grace Lovasco; his sisters, Catherine Brancaleone and Mary Sinagra Waller; his brothers, Antonio Lovasco, Salvatore and Peter Lovasco; his niece, Carla; and his nephews, Antonio and Joseph Brancaleone, Sebastian Lovasco and Antonio Lovasco.
Friends and family are invited to attend a visiting hour in the Greely Funeral Home, 212 Washington Street, Gloucester on Monday, November 25th, from 9:30 am to 10:30 am. His Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Ann's Church, 60 Prospect Street, Gloucester, on Monday, November 25, at 11a.m. Burial to follow in Calvary Cemetery, Gloucester. Relatives and friends are cordially invited to attend.
In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made in memory of Joe to Cape Ann Veteran Services, 9 Dale Avenue, Gloucester or The Friends of Seacoast, 292 Washington Street, Gloucester.