Joseph Theodore Hara, Jr.

Mr. Joseph Theodore Hara, Jr., passed away peacefully of natural causes, age 89, on Wednesday, October 7, 2026 at the Willows in Lexington. He joins his wife, Edith Rose Tufarolo Hara (d. June 2021), in rest, and will be interred with her at the Pax Christi Catholic Church Columbarium and memorial garden in Lexington, KY.

Joe, or “PopPop,” was born on September 9, 1937 in New York City, the son of Joseph Theodore Sr. & Ann Cygan Hara of The Bronx. He was united in marriage to Edith Rose Tufarolo on October 6, 1962 and would have been married 64 years.

Joe is survived by his only child, Roseann Marie Hara Polashek (Timothy Polashek), his sisters Barbara Jean Hara Charles, of New York City, and Carol Hara Townsend, of Baltimore, MD, as well as his two grandchildren, Amelia Rosemarie (age 19) and Dashiell Theodore (age 13) Polashek; both adored beyond measure.

Joe was a Carpenter Foreman for most of his life, a NYC Taxi driver during the recession, and an avid fisherman and lover of the sea for his entire life. Fiercely funny, and a practical joker, Joe never lost his humor, even wearing a funny hat on his 89th birthday. He was always a handsome dude!

When dad worked construction, he built a lot of high-rise NYC banks & offices: if there were any leftovers in dumpsters from exec offices, he would bring them home and outfit the hand-crafted dollhouse he made for his daughter with bespoke flocked wallpaper & plush exec carpet remnants! A true Barbie dream house.

As a child in The Bronx, Joe would tell, of roasting potatoes in a bonfire in the park with his friends as they played, or building sailboats with his dad, even if it ended up sinking in a terrible storm and they had to be rescued by the Coast Guard. Twice. He played with squirrels, and visited the Bronx Zoo often. He tortured his sisters endlessly, but they still loved him. He met his wife, Edith, in high school, and apparently let her cheat off him during a math exam she wasn’t prepared for! Although good at math, Joe confessed that if he wasn’t a carpenter, like his dad, he would have loved to be a History Professor. He will always be a die-hard Yankee baseball fan!

If Joe wanted good food, he would take the family to City Island for seafood, Arthur Ave for Italian, or Greenpoint, Brooklyn to “the Happy End” for Polish. But he really loved his wife’s homemade meatloaf, crispy chicken cutlets, and pea soup with ham. For desserts, it was her Pineapple-upside-down cake or NY-style cheesecake or cannoli. No 1980s holiday was complete without a trip to Frankie & Johnny’s The Pine restaurant for zuppa di pesce with Grandma Rose.

Joe loved music so very much. He sang Doo Wop with pals as a teen, and attended performances of operas, ballets, and orchestras throughout his life at Lincoln Center & Carnegie Hall, in NYC. He loved Verdi’s Falstaff, and listening to the three tenors on records. At one point he had amassed over 5,000 records, from the Beatles to Dolly Parton. He even dragged the whole family to see Bobby Rydell, the Drifters, & Platters revival tour back in the 1990s. He loved Patsy Cline, Nana Mouskouri, Linda Ronstadt, & Creedence Clearwater, & vacuumed to them weekly! Joe sang Bobby Vinton songs to his then baby daughter, while Bing Crosby featured every Christmas.

Joe loved to drive & travel, and he visited Alaska, Italy, Bermuda, England and across the USA, including the Grand Canyon & Disney World. Joe could navigate anywhere with an Exxon Mobil road atlas & the sun. He entertained people with the occasional ear wiggle, and could match an accent like a chameleon does colors: he never met a stranger! Joe loved the beach, even though he always burned (called it ‘connect-the-freckles!’) and attended shows like Yanni at Jones Beach Theater. Joe had hobbies galore: apart from reading about history, listening to music, doing the NY Times crossword puzzle in pen, and for many years, bowling (a fave now passed on to his daughter!), Joe was usually fishing, fishing, fishing or fishing. Casting off a party boat into the ocean or off a pier under the Throggs Neck Bridge, or even a row boat in the Sound for crabbing. He loved catching flounder, and the fight of a blue fish or striped bass, and he often had two little accomplices with him: his daughter Roseann, who also loves the sea and fishing, and his friend’s son, Marc. Every fishing trip ended with ice cream on the way home and crafting the ‘fish tale’. Marc was so influenced by fishing with Joe he learned to sail, went to Maritime College, & works on the water for the Staten Island Ferry. Because of Joe. Some people are just called to the water.

Joe loves telling “fish tales” -but in life he had some funny experiences. Like when he called up Harrah’s Casino Hotel in Atlantic City for a room and had the desk clerk believing he was THE OWNER, Mr. Harrah, not just Mr. Joe Hara...He did finally confess the jest, and I think he got an upgrade from the hilarity! Joe also told of playing poker with character actor Peter Boyle in Atlantic City a few times- apparently Boyle was a regular on the Jersey Shore when he was not starring on Everybody Loves Raymond.

But Joe’s most favorite thing to do in his later years was to spoil the grandkids. Amelia named him PopPop. Joe had voices for all of Amelia’s dolls, played Barbies and restaurant with her, and Joe still spoke “Donald Duck” to Dash while playing trains. Dash will carry on the tradition of the ear wiggling to the next generation of our family. And like his PopPop, Dash is a redhead and loves bowling.

Joe will be greatly missed. Fair winds...and following seas. My dad. Love & thanks. Your support & comfort is appreciated more than we can express. Roseann M. Hara Polashek & Family In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made in Joe’s name to Shriners Children’s Hospital in Lexington, KY.