Obituary of Joseph T. Wythe

Joseph T. Wythe, a 30-year veteran of the United States Postal Service and lifelong resident of Peabody, passed away unexpectedly on April 12. He was 55. An alumnus of St. John’s School, Bishop Fenwick High School, and Merrimack College, Joe was a proud member of the National Postal Mail Handlers Union, Local 301, while serving the Postal Service in Woburn and North Reading. He was also a longtime member of the Knights of Columbus where he was active in the bowling league. Joe—or “Jay” to those who refused to cease and desist from the use of his childhood nickname—was an entertaining fellow with an almost encyclopedic knowledge of sports, Boston history, and heavy metal music. How did Joe Wythe know so much? One never saw him without multiple books, and his home was more of a library than a house, with stacks of books in every room. Joe was easy to spot. He was the guy with the books, a hat from Boston sports teams—and a t-shirt from an AC DC or Kiss concert. Joe was the son of the late Thomas Wythe and the late Patricia Wood Wythe of Peabody, and he is survived by his sister, Ellen Wythe Horrigan and his brother-in-law, David Horrigan III, of Nahant, his nieces, Brooke and Lexi Farnum, and his nephew, David “DJ” Horrigan IV, also of Nahant, his cousins Barbara McHugh of Lake Forest, Illinois, Sarah McHugh of Chicago, Marie Gisi and Family of Madison, Wisconsin, and the Moran, Velez, Downey, and Melanson Families of Peabody. Pallbearers will be Philip Alvarado, David Horrigan III, Captain David Horrigan Jr., Richard Medina, Robert Melanson Jr., Robert Melanson Sr., John Pani, Jun Tiongson, and Mark West. Visitation will be Friday, April 19, from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM, at the Conway, Cahill-Brodeur Funeral Home, 82 Lynn Street in Peabody. Funeral services will be Saturday, April 20, at 10:00 AM, also at Conway, Cahill-Brodeur. Burial will follow at St. Mary’s Cemetery, Salem.