JFC Breathe Free Foundation Scholarship in Memory of Joseph F. Clausi

Joseph F. Clausi was born on April 17th, 1944. He grew up in Kingston, NY in an Italian American family. Joe initially wanted to be a barber. However, he decided that plumbing and heating might be more engaging. He eventually opened his own business. He married Linda Lambert in 1968 and they bought a house in Port Ewen, NY where he and Linda raised 7 children. Joe was an avid golfer. He was very methodical, traditional, and was notorious for being boldly truthful. Perhaps one of his greatest qualities and most certainly the reason why he was such an amazing plumber was that he had the most beautiful mind. Joe mastered his craft and would usually have to take everything apart just to put it back together the proper way, hence solving most of the plumbing and heating issues he encountered. Over the course of more than a 40 year career in plumbing and heating, Joe had a reputation for being honest, extremely hard working and very dependable. These qualities allowed him a successful plumbing business. He was not the last of his kind in being traditional and old school in the way he lived his life and operated his business, but he was certainly one that has left an ever-lasting mark on anyone who was close to him. What he learned in school enabled him with the tools necessary to have a successful plumbing and heating business, own his own home, and raise 7 kids. He lived a very happy life, filled with memories that those that knew him will forever hold dearly. On December 1st, 2016, he lost his battle with Mesothelioma due to exposure of asbestos. It is the hope of the Clausi family and the JFC Breathe Free Foundation, Inc., that this scholarship will make a worthy attempt to foster those same chances for someone else. Joe would want that, too. EST. 2018