JOE PIENTKA

Command Sergeant Major Joe Pientka, U.S. Army (Ret.) was born in Dante, Virginia on February 7, 1925, to Constant and Mary Pientka. He was the last surviving child of Constant and Mary Pientka's seven children. Joe received his final Permanent Change of Station orders to the big golf course in the sky on June 14, 2018. Joe entered military service June 1944 at Camp Wheeler, Georgia and was deployed to Naples, Italy in August 1944 in support of the American effort in World War II. He served with the 88th Infantry Blue Devil Division until July 1946 when he ended his tour of military service. On August 13, 1950, Joe married Catherine Elizabeth Simms in Baltimore, Maryland. In October 1950, Joe was recalled to active duty and assigned to the Korean Military Advisory Group (KMAG) as the Sergeant Major of Korean Infantry Basic Training Center number one (KIBTC-1) at Taejon, Korea. He was stationed at Fort Lee, Virginia from October 1951 to October 1953 as Assistant Housing Manager. In late October 1953, Joe returned to Korea and was reassigned to KMAG as the Armed Forces Assistance to Korea (AFAK) officer for Eighth Army Support Command (EASCOM) in Seoul, Korea. He returned to Fort Lee in 1955 and was assigned as Assistant Housing Manager until 1964. He served from 1965 thru 1971 as the Sergeant Major for Family Housing at Fort Lee. On January 31, 1971, Joe Pientka retired from U.S. Army active duty service at the rank of Command Sergeant Major. In August of 1972 he became the first civilian Housing Officer at Fort Lee. Joe served in that capacity until his retirement from Civil Service in February 1989 after eighteen years of service. He is an honorary staff and faculty member at the Army Logistics Center, Fort Lee, Virginia. Joe attended numerous Army schools to include the Sergeant Major Academy at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Virginia State College and the University of Maryland. Joe did not stay idle after retirement. Golf, dachshunds, family and friends continued to be Joe's focus for the remainder of his life. He is survived by his son, Lt. Colonel Joe Pientka Jr. (US Army Ret.) and daughter-in-law Mary of Jacksonville, Florida. Joe was preceded in Death by his wife of 63 years, Catherine (2013) and daughter Mary (Sissy 2005).

Joe is survived by two grandsons and six great-grandchildren. A grandson, Joe Pientka III and wife Melissa, two great-granddaughters, Jillian Marie Pientka, Madeleine Jolie Pientka and grandson Ethan Sawyer Pientka from Arlington, Virginia. A grandson, John Alex Pientka and great-grandsons John Lukas Pientka, William Colton Pientka, and great-grand daughter Daisy Catherine Pientka of Scottsdale, Arizona. Joe is also survived by his niece Karen Loy Smith of Hurst, Texas.Joe is survived by many long time good friends to include Richard Runke, Bill Hallman, Frank Hallman, Chuck Stover, Helen Mc Bee, Glen Brown, Leon Bowman, Margaret Nicholls, Peter Kim, Sandy Faria, Tim Crews, Jason Hannah, Bruce Schwalm, Denny Dennington, Henry Radant, Donald Cooley, Jimmy Childress, Jim Dorton, Jeannie Gabs, Ralph Griffith, Mary Evans, Connie Kitt, Dorothy Oliver, Regina Mason, Floyd Sheffield, Jeanie Beale, and his Care Provider Mary Sisk and her husband William and Family. Mary Sisk provided daily care and friendship to Joe and his wife Catherine for many years.

Private funeral services will be held at Southlawn Memorial Park Mausoleum, Prince George, Virginia. Funeral arrangements by the Crater Road Chapel of the E. Alvin Small Funeral Homes and Crematory, 3935 S. Crater Road Petersburg, Virginia 23805. Condolences may be registered at www.ealvinsmall.com.