He was born in West Pittston, and was a lifelong resident of Wyoming Valley. He was the son of John F. and Mary Walsh Gilroy. He was a graduate of St. John High School in Pittston, and was valedictorian of his class. He attended the University of Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania and King’s College.
He was a licensed real estate broker for 34 years and owned Joseph P. Gilroy, Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Company in Kingston, Pa. He was a member of the Greater Wilkes-Barre Association of Realtors, and the Pennsylvania Association of Realtors, of which he was a state treasurer.
He was a member of gate of Heaven Parish in Dallas. He was a master sergeant in the United States Army in Topeka, Kan., and served in World War II. He was a member of the American Legion, Post 395, Kingston; and Fourth Degree Knights of Columbus, Council 302, Wilkes-Barre. He was an avid golfer and was a member of the Wyoming Valley Country Club, Hanover Township.
He was preceded in death by his first wife, Marie, who died in 1987; brother, Edmund; sisters, Agnes O’Hara, Regina Newcomb and Romayne Brislin.
Surviving are his wife, the former Margaret Liddon (Margo); daughter, Sally McHale, Dallas; Nancy Answini, Plains Township; son, Joseph Gilroy Jr., Dallas; brother, Jack, Gainesville, Fla.; sister, Sister Ellenita Gilroy, IHM, Marywood College; grandchildren, Deborah Boyle Hoffman, William Boyle, Chelsea McHale, Scott Answini, Jill Answini, and Ryan and Sean Gilroy; great-grandson, Hunter Hoffman; stepdaughter, Valerie Goldsmith, Orlando, Fla.; and stepgrandchildren, Jennifer and Garrett Goldsmith.
Funeral services will be held Monday at 10:30 a.m. from Metcalfe and Shaver Funeral Home, 504 Wyoming Ave., Wyoming, with a Mass of Christian Burial at 11 a.m. at Gate of Heaven Church, Dallas. Entombment will be in Mount Olivet Cemetery, Carverton.
Friends may call from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Hospice Care of the VNA of Luzerne County, c/o 90 E. Northampton St., Wilkes-Barre, Pa. 18701.
The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, PA) - April 17, 1999