Joseph Handrahan, Sr.
April 28, 2024 - August 31, 2007
Joseph W. Handrahan Sr., formerly of Shaler, died Friday, Aug. 31, 2007. He was the oldest of a famous Hull, Mass., athletic family at Hinghim High School, where he was a four-year starter in football and baseball, captaining the football team in his junior and senior years and the baseball team as a senior. Joe was selected the 1930-31 captain of the Quincy Patriot Ledger All-Scholastic Team, played football at Tabor and then converted to tackle under famous coach Earl “Red” Blake at Dartmouth. At Dartmouth, Joe had a perfect record as a placekicker, never missing an extra point and earning an All-American honorable mention by the sportswriters during his senior year. Blake once told the Boston newspapers that the two Handrahans were the best-coached athletes he had the pleasure to work with. At The Citadel military college in South Carolina, Joe was a line coach. The Handrahan football legacy spanned three American presidents. Joe graduated from Dartmouth College in 1936 and the Thayer School of Engineering in 1937 and entered the Army in 1941. He later owned and operated a construction business in Pittsburgh and lived in Shaler with his wife and son. Years later, Joe retired to Florida, where he enjoyed 30 years of playing golf. In recent years, he and his wife returned to the Pittsburgh area to be near their son. He loved to dance with his soulmate in the ’50s, stopping on the Washington Street Crossing after the Pitt game to dance. Husband of the late Esther (Henderson) Handrahan. Loving father of Joseph W. Handrahan Jr. (Marilyn). Brother of William and Arthur Handrahan, of Hull. Grandfather of Kelly M. Hearn (James). Great-grandfather of Kristina and Ezkiel. Service and interment private. Arrangements by DEVLIN FUNERAL HOME OF CRANBERRY.
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