Meet Woodlands resident Joseph “Joe” S., who was born in Columbus, OH, in 1925. After high school, Joe was drafted into the US Army and served proudly in World War II from 1944-1946. Joe served as a Sergeant in the US Army’s 86th Infantry “Black Hawk” Division, 342nd Regiment. He was awarded the Combat Infantry Badge, Bronze Star Medal and one Battle Star. He served in both the Battle for Central Europe and the Asiatic-Pacific Theater of Operations, Philippine Islands.
After his military service, and thanks to the GI Bill, Joe attended John Carroll University in Ohio, graduating in 1949. Joe met his wife, Viola, while on military leave at his friend’s wedding in Ohio. Viola and Joe married in 1949! Joe went on to Case Western Reserve Law School, LL.B., where he graduated in 1951. He then moved to Washington, DC, to attend Georgetown University Law School, where he received his LL.M. (Master of Laws) in 1953.
Upon graduating from law school, Joe was hired by the Administrative Office of US Courts, where he served in various capacities such as division chief and assistant director. In 1977, Joe was appointed by the chief justice of the US Supreme Court to be the deputy director of the Administrative Office of US Courts, where he served until 1985. In August 1985, the chief justice appointed Joe to be the clerk of the US Supreme Court until his retirement in February 1991.
During his tenure at the Administrative Office, Joe organized the first Judicial Conference of the US in 1966 and attended every Judicial Conference from 1966 to 1985. From 1977 to 1985, he served as the recording secretary of the Judicial Conference.
After retirement, from 1991 to the present, Joe continues to serve as a consultant for the Judicial Conference Standing Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure. He is also a former editor of the Federal Bar News and Federal Bar Journal. Joe has continued to be a contributing editor to Black’s Law Dictionary – and he can be found in his spare time at the Woodlands working on the soon to be published 12th edition of the Black’s Law Dictionary.
Joe is most proud of raising his eight children (Joseph, Robert, Mary Ellen, Thomas, Tim, David, Anne, and Margaret, who passed in 2019) with the love of his life, Viola, in DC and Bethesda. Joe and Viola were very dedicated to their Catholic faith and attended the Church of the Little Flower. Joe loved the beach, and the family vacationed every year starting in the early 60s at Middlesex Beach in Bethany, DE. What made the summer vacation even more fun with eight children was extended friends and family that were at the beach during the same time. There was always the huge annual potluck crab feast!
Joe and Viola’s daughter, Margaret, was developmentally disabled, and Joe and Viola were very active in programs to support the disabled. Viola passed away in 2002 after 52 wonderful years of marriage.
Joe is still very active in the Church and goes to mass daily. He is also actively involved in the American Legion Bethesda Post 59. If you ask anyone who knows Joe to describe him in one word, they will say that he is a “gentleman’s gentleman.” We love having Joe at the Woodlands with his great spirit, attitude and sense of humor!