Joseph Daniel Nangle

Joseph Daniel Nangle died peacefully on February 27, 2016 in Nashua, NH after a brief illness. Joe was born in Danvers, MA, to Joseph Daniel Nangle and Madaline Barry Nangle on September 9, 1928. He was one of five children. Joe is survived by his seven children, twelve grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, Jim, of South Carolina, his first wife, Margaret Creeden Nangle, his second wife, Karen Davis, many nieces and nephews, and his faithful and true friend, Ginie Murphy.

Joe's father was a police officer in Danvers, and retired as the Chief of Police in the late 1960s. Joe's mother raised her children, and also had a small, successful flower business. She raised her flowers in a greenhouse behind their home, and sold them from a stand in front of their home.

Joe attended St. John's Preparatory High School in Danvers, MA, graduating in 1946. He enlisted in the United States Army after finishing high school. He proudly served as a Military Police Officer in Trieste, Italy. He was responsible for German POWs in the Motor Pool. He was honorably discharged after 18 months in the Army. Although his enlistment was for a brief period of time, it had a formative impact on Joe. While raising seven children, the occasional order was given; some of us know how to don our pants in a tent without getting sandy cuffs, lest we fail inspection.

After the War, Joe attended Northeastern University under the GI Bill. He began studying electrical engineering but switched his major to Journalism as a sophomore. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 1953.

Joe was a writer. His first job was as a copy boy with the Boston Globe (1949 – 1952), then with the Woonsocket Call in 1953, covering local events. He and Margaret lived in Uxbridge, MA, at that time. After four years, they moved to Upton, MA (1957), because the fourth child was arriving, and Joe had been hired by the Worcester Evening Gazette. One of his more memorable assignments was serializing the recently published Charlotte's Web in weekly installments in the Worcester Evening Gazette. He was proud of his editing work. Joe's writing was published in trade journals, the general press and sporting magazines. In 2002 he was awarded a prize by the Seacoast Writers Association for a short story.

In 1961 the family of seven moved to Danvers, MA, when Joe was hired by Mitre Corporation as a technical writer. In 1964, the family of nine moved to Westborough, MA, when Joe was hired by Digital Equipment Corporation and began work in Maynard, MA. Joe and his family moved to Billerica in 1971. He and Margaret lived there until 1983.

Joe married his first wife Margaret Irene Creeden Nangle on October 30, 1953. They had dated for seven years before marrying. They hunted together on dates. They have seven children (Kathleen, Diane, Mary, Patricia, Martha, Joseph, David). Family vacations always involved camping in New England. Joe secured this valued tradition by building his own camp on a lake in Washington County, ME, for the continued enjoyment of his children and grandchildren. He once said that the two best decisions he ever made were having children, and building the camp.

Joe was married briefly to Karen Davis, of New Boston, NH, with whom he shared travel and dog adventures. His devoted friend, Ginie, was a steady presence for decades. Joe's brother, Jim, and his wife Pat visited and called regularly from South Carolina.

Joe was an ardent outdoorsman and enjoyed hunting and fishing with friends and family. A highlight for him was hunting elk with a 45 magnum rifle while on horseback in Wyoming. He recounted with great amazement the thrill of galloping through the woods on horseback, chasing a herd of elk. He was equally adept at silently paddling a canoe.

He was the repository of the recent and past Nangle family history, and had traveled to France to study its genealogy as far back as the year 900.

Joe suffered from vascular dementia the last decade of his life. This diagnosis was later changed to Alzheimer's type dementia. He identified his own failing cognition and initiated what eventually resulted in a diagnosis. The progressive illness eventually eclipsed Joe's rich language, but bits of his personality continued to glitter to the very end.

The family would like to thank the caring staff at Courville at Nashua and also Home Health & Hospice for unfaltering tender, loving care, especially in the last week of Joe's life.

A Celebration of Life will take place at a later date. Please check back for further information.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation of time or support to the Alzheimer's Association (www.alz.org).