“Joseph always had a strong will to survive,” his son Timothy Albright wrote in a tribute. “He left us on Feb. 3, 2024 to rest in heaven with his wife of 60 years, his beloved Shirley. He was 97.”

Joseph M. Albright Jr. was born on June 10, 1926, the son of Louise (née Altier) and Joseph Milton Albright Sr.

“Both of his parents had tuberculosis and his mother died three months after he was born,” the tribute said. “He began life at St. Margaret’s Baby Hospital in Albany. When he was 2, he was placed in The Albany Orphan Asylum on New Scotland Avenue where he was listed as an inmate.

“He grew up during the years of the Great Depression. His family consisted of other orphans and caregivers at what was called, by 1934, the Albany Home for Children. He could never be adopted because his father was still alive but could not be found to sign the papers.

“He attended School 19, Hackett, and Schuyler High School in Albany.

“At age 17, in 1943, he enlisted in the United States Navy. The recruiters commented that he was just the kind of recruit they were looking for — ‘no one will miss him!’ He was assigned to the USS Rocky Mount and saw combat in the South Pacific. Under battle conditions, he was a sightsetter on a 5-inch gun.

“The Rocky Mount received a commendation for exceptionally meritorious service in action against enemy Japanese aircraft, shore batteries, submarines, and mines in the Pacific Campaign during the Marshall Islands Campaign, the Marianas Operation, the Leyte Landings, and the Lingayen Landings.

“He also served on the USS Adirondack and was honorably discharged as a Yeoman 3rd Class in June 1946. During the war, his father was located and they met for the first time while Dad was on leave to the States.

“After the war, he finished high school and took night classes at Siena College while working days. In 1948, he married Phyllis Macalister and they had a daughter named Vivian. Unfortunately, they divorced and Vivian lived with her mother.

“Dad had jobs selling insurance, beer, and Edison batteries. The job that brought success was at Albany Public Markets where he became vice president of the company.

“In 1957, he married Shirley Elizabeth Sample. They raised four children on their farm in Voorheesville.

“Later, in the 1970s, he was the general manager of Glen & Mohawk Dairy. He always enjoyed his company Cadillacs.

“He was a very hard worker, teaching his children a good work ethic since he had to work hard to get ahead having no family support growing up.

“Mom and Dad took the family on many vacations in their RVs. They always celebrated the holidays with joy and had many picnics at home. They traveled all over the country and abroad.

“Dad had a great memory and loved to tell jokes and sing humorous songs. He had a laugh that could start the whole room laughing. He enjoyed a good cigar and a Rusty Nail cocktail.

“Dad was a ‘man’s man’ and a ‘ladies’ man.’ A man with a strong presence, he was well respected!

“The final decades of his career were spent managing meat-packing companies, a hardware store, and driving a school bus for Voorheesville. He stopped working, as a school-bus monitor, at age 91. Living alone since 2017, he moved to Teresian House in 2021.”

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Joseph M. Albright Jr. is survived by his five children, Christoper Albright and his wife, Kelly, Timothy Albright and his wife, Susan, David Albright and his wife, Karen, Debbie Neocleous, and Kelly Mucci; by his 12 grandchildren; and by his four great-grandchildren.

His wife, Shirley, died in 2017. His daughter Vivian Macalister also died before him, in 2006, as did his grandson, Jacob Albright, in 2024.

“Many thanks and gratitude to the Teresian House Nursing Home staff and special caregivers on the sixth-floor wing,” the tribute said. “They are angels!”

Calling hours will be held on Saturday, Feb. 10, from 10 a.m. till noon at Reilly Funeral Home at 9 Voorheesville Ave. in Voorheesville, with a service at 11 a.m.

A graveside service with a military honor guard will be held in the spring at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in New Salem.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Mohawk-Hudson Humane Society, 3 Oakland Ave., Menands, NY 12204.