Joseph F. Bateman Jr.

Joseph F. Bateman, Jr. "Oh, that will sound good in my obituary." - Joe Bateman Our dad talked about his obituary as long as we can remember. He read the obituaries daily and when he read one he liked, he'd tear it out and keep it as a reference. After all the talk and reference material, he never got around to writing it. What follows is our very best attempt to honor his life. Joseph Francis Bateman, Jr. was born on June 6, '39, the 2nd child of Joseph F. Bateman, Sr. and Gertrude (Macdonald). He was the beloved brother of Harriet, Jack, Bob, and Dick. Joe was a good student, star athlete, and all-around nice guy at Lawrence High School. After graduating '57, Joe spent a year at VMI. He attended Northern Essex CC, graduated Salem State (BS Ed '66) and Boston Univ. (MEd Science '70) In December '59, he met Cynthia Glinski for the 1st time at a Chi Rho Christmas dance. She had read about his achievements in the newspaper (including his appointment to the US Naval Academy) and thought, "Wow!" when he called after their first meeting to ask her to a movie. They were married Nov. 12, 66 at Holy Trinity Church in Lawrence. 100% Irish, Joe was a storyteller. He shared stories of childhood shenanigans, like playing "fireman" and putting out an imaginary fire in the neighbor's dining room through an open window with very real water from a garden hose. He had stories from interesting jobs, including trash collector, lobster shucker, jail guard, Raytheon Guidance Systems for the Hawk/ Sparrow missiles and the Command Module Simulator at MIT's Draper Lab. From '71-'87, Joe was principal of Proctor School in Topsfield. He went on to be principal of the Roosevelt School in Melrose, was awarded the Christa McAuliffe Science Award in '90, and retired in '94. Joe took a temp substitute spot teaching 5th grade at Pollard School in Plaistow, NH, temporarily staying 5 years and retiring again in '03. Joe was baptized and served as an altar boy at St Patrick's in Lawrence. He was a communicant at St. Rose of Lima in Topsfield. As Joe's earthly life approached its end, his spirit was at peace in anticipation of heaven. Joe loved baseball. He took his children to hundreds of games, particularly Cape Cod Baseball League games in the summer. He dedicated thousands of hours to building the CCBL. He served as GM of the Harwich Mariners for 3 years. Joe's retirement career was as volunteer assistant baseball coach at Northern Essex CC and Bunker Hill CC. Many of his players were immigrants, 1st-generation Americans, or 1st in their family to go to college. Joe's advocacy in their lives was the perfect expression of his passions for education, baseball, and people. Joe loved reading the newspaper. He whistled constantly, songs like "Memories" and "Take Me Out to the Ballgame", but also whistled to imitate a songbird. He loved trees. His favorite meal was turkey dinner. He loved his grandchildren, referring to them as "my Kate" and "my Patrick", responding in wonder and delight to everything they said and did. He enjoyed his coffee group of guys at Day Break Cafe. He hoped to be remembered "As a fair leader who loved his family." Joe is survived by his wife, Cynthia, of Topsfield; daughter, Rebecca Gibbs (Kevin); son, Joe; grandchildren, Kate and Patrick, all of Dallas, Texas; brothers Jack (Pam) and Bob (Camille). A funeral mass was celebrated April 6, 2021 at St. Rose of Lima in Topsfield. Special thanks Dr. Susan DeLuca and nurses at Kaplan House for their outstanding and compassionate care; Fr. Dan Hennessey of St. Rose for his spiritual guidance. Joe's funeral Mass was held in St. Rose of Lima Church on Tuesday April 6th. Assisting the family with the arrangements is O'Donnell | Cremations | Funerals | Celebrations, 167 Maple St. (Rte. 62) Danvers. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made in Joe's memory to Kaplan Family Hospice House, C/O Care Dimensions, 75 Sylvan St., Suite 102B, Danvers, MA 01923. To share a memory or offer a condolence please visit www.odonnellfuneral service.com.