Joseph Gentile, 97, long-time resident of Pottsville, died Friday evening August 1 at The Masonic Villages, Elizabethtown, where he and his wife, Evelyn, have been living since 2009.

Born in Minersville, January 19, 1917, he was the son of the late James and Rose (Roma) Gentile.

Joseph retired from Alcoa, Cressona, after 33 years of employed as a chemical analyst and metallurgist technician.

He was a life-long Mason, attaining the honorific thirty-third degree through his dedication and leadership.   He was a member of the Scottish Rite Bodies-Valley of Reading and the Rajah Temple A.A.O.N.M.S., Reading; as well as the Lions Club and Trinity Lutheran Church, Pottsville.

A professional musician, teacher, and arranger, he played guitar and electric bass. As a youth, he played violin for silent movie screenings in local theaters.  He was honored with a Distinguished Lifetime Achievement Award by the Schuylkill Jazz Society.  Joseph along with Tommy Dorsey and Les Brown were inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1991-1992.

An avid golfer and bowler, he was always ready with a joke for example he had claimed membership in the PGA (Poor Golfers Association).

Joseph is survived by his wife, the former Evelyn Marie Warfield, Elizabethtown; sons Ronald and Robert, both of California; two grandchildren and seven great grandchildren.

A service of remembrance will be held at the Masonic Village 600 Free Mason Drive Elizabethtown.  Interment will be held in Charles Baber Cemetery, Pottsville. Schlitzer Allen Pugh Funeral Home 6 ^th &West Market Streets Pottsville has been entrusted with arrangements.  Please visit www.schlitzerallenpugh.com to leave a condolence for the Gentile family.