Deceased March 26, 2020

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In Memory

Time stopped peacefully for Joe Katra on March 26, 2020, in Palm Harbor, Fla. Joe and his wife, Mary-Jane, went to bed the night before their annual physical exam appointments, and she woke up in the early morning to see Joe had passed.

Ironic that we don’t know the exact time, given Joe’s passion for clocks, something he developed early in their marriage. Over many years, Joe collected a variety of clocks for their home—including three grandfather clocks, which will go to his three children—joined several horological societies and wrote a book, Clockmakers and Clockmaking in Maine, 1770–1900. Maine became a special feature in Joe and Mary-Jane’s lives, they worked there, raised their children, researched clocks and continued to visit.

Joe came to Amherst from close-by Northampton High School, was honored in American studies, wrote an honors thesis on tariff protectionism, joined Theta Delta Chi and played basketball.

He then proceeded to have a series of prominent positions. In the Navy for three years, he served mostly in the Caribbean in communications and as the admiral’s aide. Working for 31 years in several states for New England Telephone/Bell Atlantic, Joe had a successful career as an executive for labor relations and accounting. In Maine he served on the Governor’s Management Task Force. For the clock collectors, he became their national treasurer.

A frequent traveler to Europe with Mary-Jane, Joe also prized two recent trips with son, Michael, who took Joe on an Honor Flight for veterans to Washington and also conducted his mother and aging father on a visit with Michael’s family in Phoenix. Michael hopes his father is remembered especially for his humility and kindness.

Joe leaves Mary-Jane, his wife of 65 years; daughters Ann and Elizabeth, son Michael, and their spouses; sister Dorothy; five grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

George Edmonds ’53 with assistance from Mary-Jane Katra and Michael Katra