Joseph John Bitsko, 71, of Clearwater, FL, passed away on Saturday, July 1, 2017, at Mease Dunedin Hospital in Dunedin, FL. He was born in Cleveland, OH, on October 21, 1945. He was a Navy Veteran
He was known by many names including Joe, Dad, and Papa Joe. He walked to his own beat and didn’t care what anyone thought of that. He loved family, fishing, hunting, golfing, cooking, and laughing. He loved to cook for a crowd and will be known for making the best clam chowder around.
Joe was known to be crazy, never would turn down a dare, and would eat anything crazy to get the kids laughing. He was not very graceful in that craziness and was always getting bumps, bruises and broken bones. To us kids, we knew we were in trouble when we heard “Go get me the buffalo!”. Yikes we would want to run for the hills.
He was a husband to Kara; a father to Lisa, Denise & Barry, Joe & Naida, and Kristi & Tim; he was blessed with many grandchildren (Frankie, Joey, Anna, Jimmy, Kara, Mathew, Lacey, Joseph, Nathaniel, Melo-Grace, Rudolph, Reinhart, Jeremy, and Christopher, and his first great grandchild little Frankie.
A memorial service will be held at 6:00PM on Saturday, July 8, 2017, at the Dunedin Causeway. Look for Joe’s truck on the left side of the road, before the second bridge.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests contributions be made in Joe’s name to the PTSD Foundation of America. Their website is www.ptsdusa.org. Look for the “Support Us” button, click onto it and follow the directions on the web page.
Kara, I am so sorry for your loss. You and Joe were always so kind and welcoming to me. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Sorry for the loss of your dad.
Keep those memories of your dad, family & friends close to your heart.
He was a man’s man who loved God, his family and friends and his country.he could be mean and nasty and disgusting but had a heart as big as the waters that he fished in. He is my brother and I will miss him forever! RIP Brother.
We are sorry to hear about your father’s loss. Our thoughts and our condolences to you and your family.
We are all so sorry for your loss. We will be praying for you.
Kara,
I am so sorry for your loss. You’re in my prayers.
Marla
We are so sorry for your loss. Sending prayers to you all during this difficult time.
My heart goes out to you and your family during this time of loss. Many prayers of peace going up for you. Please accept my deepest condolences.
Lisa and family,
I am so sorry for your loss my thoughts and prayers are with you and family at this difficult time. May your father rest in peace. God bless!
Kristy. Tim and family, We are so sorry to hear about this. Prayers & Blessings….
Kara, I will keep you and your family in my thoughts and prayers. My deepest sympathies to you.
Lisa, we (Carol and I) love you. Sorry for your loss. R.I.P Sir.
Kara,
I’m so sorry for your loss! You are in my thoughts and prayers. If there is anything you need or that I can help with please let me know.
Kara,
You and your lovely family are in my thoughts and prayers. May you soon be able to remember only the times you shared.
Kara and Family,
So sorry for your loss. I will never forget the ride every day to and from work. Joe and I solved a lot of world problems. Tiss will never forget the fried rice.
God bless, Tiss and George
We are so sorry for your loss Kara.
Your friends at AMTC Dist 8
Hi Papa Joe, just wanted to stop by and tell you how much we love you; Me, Tucker and Baxter. Baxter passed away in May and Tucker and I are still hanging in there, so give him a bunch of kisses and hugs for us when you see him in Heaven :-). Papa Joe I don’t know if I ever told you how much I appreciated all the times you took care of Tucker and Baxter and the other pups when I would go to shows. I never had to worry about them. I’m only sorry that we didn’t come around more often lately…I know we were a handful and a lot of work and well, it was just easier to have someone come in and take care of them while I was gone, but it’s not because we didn’t want to see you, it was just easier. I’m really sad and my only regret is that we didn’t have a chance to hug you one more time before you left us for a better world. Oh and the time we went to Mass at Light of Christ….that was a very special memory I’ll always have. I hope you got some use out of the fish finder, did I ever find the manual for you? Anyway, you know that Mama Kara is well taken care of, the kids and grandkids and all the dog kids and all of us will watch over her for you. I love you much Papa Joe. God Bless and R.I.P. (((hugs & kisses)))….Jacki & the Shelties
MOM KARA & FAMILY, YOU ALL KNOW HOW MUCH WE LOVE YOU ALL & HOW CLOSE SANDRA & HER PAPA JOE WERE. WE ARE EXTREMELY SORRY FOR THE LOSS OF SUCH A GREAT HUMAN BEING. THE DIRTY BIRD HE WAS & NASTY FOOD HABITS 2 GROSS US ALL OUT WAS PART OF HIS UNIQUE CHARM. HOPE HE IS SAVING A SPOT 4US & DON’T PISS OFF 2many FELLOW ANGELS B4 WE ALL MEET UP AGAIN. PAPA JOE YOU ARE 4EVER IN OUR HEARTS & WE ARE SORRY 4THE LOSS OF YOU 2ALL THE PPL ON THE PLANET THAT YOU LEFT A UNFORGETTABLE EXPERIENCE IN THEIR LIFE FOREVER N ALWAYS. GOD BLESS YOU AND ALL YOUR LOVED ONES. AMEN Much love
THE WOODY’S
Joe was a super nice neighbor and is greatly missed. We appreciated his vast wealth of knowlege while talking to him and Harley.
My condolences to the family for their loss. Sad to hear that Joe is gone. I am a neighbor on Cumberland Lane and know Joe from walking my dog. Joe also went to the same church/mass as I did so he would always say “hello neighbor!” One day last winter I ran into Joe in the frozen food aisles at the neighborhood WalMart. He had his Santa Claus hat on and said something like “My wife said there are never any munchies at home so she sent me out for ice cream.” I called over a little girl and her mother in the next aisle and said “Come and see Santa Claus buying ice cream for Mrs. Claus.” We all had a great laugh. May Joe rest in peace.
– Janis Przywara
Dear Bitsco Family. Although too much time has gone by we have such fond and grateful memories of you. From Arlene marrying us to the gracious rehearsal dinner that You and Joe presented. I remember the best biscuits and gravy at the redwood and the hysterical way Joe attacked king crab at the old Crabby Bills. Your sweet Dobermans made you fall in love with the breed. Looking back when Denise , Krissy and Joey were still so young only shows how too fast time moves. Our thoughts and prayers surround your dear family
No fish stories in heaven JOE!!
Love, Sandi and Ed Vonnes