Deacon Joseph James Wall of New Hope, Ky., died Jan. 21 at University Hospital in Louisville. He was 83 and had been a deacon since 1975.
Deacon Walls, a native of New York City, served as a deacon in New Jersey and the Archdiocese of Louisville, including at St. Vincent de Paul Church in New Hope, the Basilica of St. Joseph Proto-Cathedral in Bardstown, Ky., and Windsor Gardens Retirement Community, also in Bardstown. He was also a Third-Order Dominican.
Deacon walls was a member of the first permanent diaconate class ordained in the Archdiocese of Newark and a veteran of the U.S. Army. He retired from the American Water Works in New Jersey.
He was preceded in death by two sons, Joseph and Thomas Wall.
He is survived by his wife of 62 years, Mary Beirne Wall; a daughter, Mary Manion (Francis) of Bardstown; two sons, David Wall (Leal) of Harrington, Del., and Samuel Wall of New Jersey; 15 grandchildren; and 17 great-grandchildren.
The Mass of Christian Burial was celebrated Jan. 26 at St. Vincent de Paul in New Hope with burial in the church cemetery.
