Joseph Ciaramello

1950 - 2021

On Sept. 14, 2021 Joseph Paul Ciaramello died at the age of 70. He passed away at Roper Saint Francis Mount Pleasant Hospital in Mount Pleasant, S.C. at 4:50 p.m. His son and brother Michael were with him at the time of his death. He was born on Sept. 15, 1950 in Salisbury at Rowan Memorial Hospital at 2 a.m.; or as he liked to say “…born in the middle of the century, in the middle of the month and in the middle of the night”. Joseph is survived by his only son, Adam Paul Ciaramello. His parents were the late James Joseph Ciaramello and the late Minnie Ola Gardner Ciaramello. He had two older brothers, the late Andrew Ciaramello and the late James G. Ciaramello. Joseph is also survived by his younger brothers, Patrick and Michael Ciaramello. Joseph attended Sacred Heart Catholic School and then later graduated from East Rowan High School in 1970. He was a member of the high school wrestling and football teams. His high school football team went undefeated and won the Western North Carolina High School Athletic Association championship in 1969. After high school he coached Gra-Y football and Little League baseball. He loved sports. He attended Livingstone College and wrestled there, later winning a tournament in his weight class. He was also voted most outstanding wrestler in his weight class. As a talented chess player, he won multiple tournaments at the Salisbury YMCA. He was a lifelong North Carolina Tar Heels fan. He worked over thirty years as a fork lift driver for Frito Lay. Later he also worked in waste treatment for the city of Salisbury. He liked to travel and visited many places. He was fond of Myrtle Beach, S.C. and Charleston, S.C. He enjoyed cooking at home and was outstanding at it, watching movies, playing chess and was steadfast about keeping a clean home. He enjoyed watching his favorite television shows: Stargate SG-1, Hogan‘s Heroes and The Andy Griffith Show. He enjoyed laughing and telling jokes and spending time with relatives and friends. He retired to the Charleston, S.C. area and lived in the town of Hanahan. He will be deeply missed by his relatives, friends and especially his son. Service: His funeral was held at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Salisbury, North Carolina on Nov. 6.