Joseph Gerard Gaydos

July 25, 2023

Joseph Gerard Gaydos, 70, of Wilkes-Barre, passed away Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.

He was born January 30, 1953, in Wilkes-Barre, to the late Joseph and Valeria (Sapp) Gaydos.

Joseph graduated from James M. Coughlin High School, Class of 1970, and Wilkes College in 1974. Before his retirement, he was employed as a budget analyst by State Correctional Institutions at Retreat and Dallas.

Joseph was a fantastic father and a devoted husband. He absolutely adored his wife of 43 years, Diane Dydynski Gaydos, whom he married on Sept. 8, 1979.  Their love was inspiring and beautiful to behold. They shared many years of laughter and love. Joseph would do anything for his wife, and he was the best husband in the world. He was also quite a handyman who made many improvements to their home to make it a true refuge from the world. Joe and Diane enjoyed cultivating an impressive garden and having coffee while playing cards on the deck that Joe built.

Diane and Joe were always on the move, frequently taking day trips to Philadelphia, Atlantic City, and many other places. They also traveled the world, visiting Italy (where they helped hold up the Tower of Pisa), France, Germany and Hungary, as well as many parts of Canada and places in the Caribbean. While Joe had hoped to visit all 50 states, he and Diane did make it to 40 of them, which is pretty good.

Joseph was always there for his children, from dancing with his infant daughter to “Song Sung Blue” by Neil Diamond, to coaching his son’s soccer team for many years, to helping with his kids’ science projects. He was always ready with a witty comment or joke — for example, he put a Fred Flintstone eraser in his daughter’s dinosaur diorama for the science fair, even though she grumbled about it. He was right — it was funny and won an award.

In his later years, Joe volunteered with Diane at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts in Wilkes-Barre, where they made many friends and got to see a variety of great shows. Everyone who knew him, loved him.  Joseph was a lifelong Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies fan who got to see one last Phillies game at the Bank just five days before he passed away. (They lost that day, but we won’t hold that against them. They did win the day after he died, so he clearly had a word with God when he got there.)

Surviving are his wife of 43 years, Diane Dydynski Gaydos; daughter, Kristen Gaydos and her husband, Kevin Donlin; son, Matthew Gaydos; sister, Valerie Gaydos Nelson; and many nieces and nephews.

His family will feel his absence deeply but are comforted by the countless amazing memories of Joe that they share. He will forever be in our hearts.

A memorial visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday, with a service at 7 p.m., from Corcoran Funeral Home Inc., 20 South Main Street, Plains, PA  18705.

Memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association, P.O. Box 840692, Dallas, TX 75284-0692, www.heart.org, in his name.