Joseph E. Jannotta, Jr., who died on April 22 after complications from a fall, will be best remembered as a man ready to share a kind word and an open-hearted smile. Throughout his active life, Joe was quick with his humor, wit and warmth, always inquisitive about the lives and doings of others.
Blessed with an intuitive knack to connect with people, his personal and professional life were propelled by his desire to help people make the most of their talents in life and work.
Born on May 22, 1928, in Chicago, Ill., to parents Joseph Sr. and Ramona, Joe was raised in Kenilworth, Ill., with older sister Stella and younger brother Ned. He attended New Trier High School, and graduated from Williams College (BA-1950) and The University of Chicago (MBA-1967).
Following his service as a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy from 1951-55, with a tour in Korea as a carrier pilot, he resumed a career with Jewel Companies where he spent 25 years, eventually serving as senior personnel officer of Osco Drug, Inc.
In 1976, Joe became president of Yoplait Midwest, a start-up company, until its sale to General Mills two years later.
In 1978, he founded Jannotta, Bray & Associates, Inc., a career consulting firm which grew to include 13 offices coast to coast, and he served as its chairman until it was sold to Right Management Consultants, Inc. in 1994.
He remained active in the career counseling industry, and as a volunteer board member and student mentor for Chicago State University, and mentor for prospective UCSB history students.
Against the backdrop of Chicago, the North Shore and his cherished Castle Park community in Michigan, Joe and wife Gina raised their three children, Mary, Martha and Sepp.
Over the years, he nurtured many dear friendships, along with passions for sports (tennis, paddle tennis, skiing), music, art, fine food and wines.
In the late 1990s, he and Gina retired to Santa Barbara, where he and Gina reacquainted themselves with their love of golf.
There they found a spiritual home in Montecito’s All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church (ASBTS), where Joe served on the Vestry from 2010-13, and was proud to be a member of the Discernment Committee, helping to bring the Rev. Aimee Eyer-Delevett to the ASBTS community.
Not one for sitting idle, he began work on a memoir and historical account of his uncle Vernon Jannotta, a decorated U.S. naval hero, and a Japanese naval officer, and their parallel experiences in the WWII Solomon Islands.
Carefully researched and richly detailed, Extraordinary Leaders, was published in 2015, a signature achievement for Joe. Recent years brought another thrill — cheering on the Chicago Cubs to finally break their drought with a World Series win in 2016.
Joe is especially beloved by his wife of 58 years, Gina Laun Jannotta; daughter Mary Jannotta Ireland, her husband Doug Ireland and children Haley, Jack, Billy and Josephine; daughter Martha Jannotta, her husband Jay Mittelstead and children Nick, Quin and Nell; son Sepp Jannotta, his wife Alysha Goheen and children Sylvie and Gigi; brother Edgar Dalzell Jannotta and family; late sister Stella Jannotta Kelly and family; sister-in-law Katie Laun Hodgson Olson and family.
Joe loved spending time with his many grandchildren and countless nieces and nephews and shined brightest when surrounded by his sprawling family.
A service will be held at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 29, at All Saints-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Montecito.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to All Saints-by-the-Sea: 83 Eucalyptus Lane, Santa Barbara CA 93108, phone 969-4771, email info@asbts.org, website http://allsaintsbythesea.org/giving/.
— Mary Ireland