Smalls, Joseph

Description

Joseph Smalls was born Aug. 7, 1914, in Sheldon, S.C., to Joseph and Alice Wiggs Smalls. He was educated in Sheldon schools and also attended trade school in New York City. In Rye his family lived at 270 Locust Ave.

Joseph was an amateur boxer in the late 1930’s and ’40s. In 1941 he won the lightweight class the Diamond Gloves in Championship, an amateur tournament at the Westchester County Center in White Plains. The Diamond Gloves was sponsored by the New York Daily News until the 1950s.

Joseph enlisted and served in the U.S. Army during World War II.

SEVENTY-EIGHT SELECTEES LEAVE THIS MORNING FOR ARMY SERVICE

The selectees were taken to Mamaroneck railroad station in cars provided through the Womens Defense Council, headed by Mrs. E. B. Ingraham. In the group from Rye were: Joe Smalls 270 Locust Ave.

RYE, NEW YORK, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1942

A resident of Brady Place in White Plains for 50 years, he was employed as a plumber for several companies, including the Henry F. Raab Co. in White Plains, where he was a shop steward until the 1960s; a New York plumbing supply company; and the Elmsford Plumbing Co., from which he retired in 1979. For 20 years, until he retired in the 1960s, he was a member of the White Plains Police Auxiliary.

Active in church affairs, Joseph served for the past 42 years as the chairman of the board of trustees of Mount Hope AME Zion Church in White Plains.

“He was instrumental in getting the land for building the church. He was still working with architects on our sanctuary,” said Mary S. Earle, the wife of a church trustee and volunteer secretary for the church. “It’s a terrible loss to the church and the community as well,” she said of his death.

Mr. Smalls also held the title of class leader, and as part of his responsibilities, he visited the sick and hospital residents. “He was a dedicated man of God, it’s as simple as that,” said his daughter, Norma Smalls-Mantey of Hyattsville, Md. Mr. Smalls was a singer in the men’s chorus and the senior choir. He was a member of the Bright Hope Lodge 62 F & AM in Elmsford.

Joseph Smalls, a White Plains church leader active in community work, died September 15, 1986 at Lawrence Memorial Hospital in New London, Conn., after falling ill while returning home from a fishing trip. He was 72.

In addition to his daughter, survivors include his wife, Marie Smalls of White Plains; his sons, Isaac of the Bronx and Joseph Jr. of White Plains; another daughter, Dolores Smalls of Westbury, L.I.; nine grandchildren; and four greatgrandchildren.

Name: Joseph Smalls Race: Negro (Black) Age: 25 Birth Date: 28 Dec 1914 Birth Place: Sheldon, So. Carolina Residence Place: White Plains, West., New York Registration Date: abt 1939 Registration Place: White Plains, Westchester, New York, USA Employer: W. P. A. Weight: 145 Complexion: Dark brown Eye Color: Brown Hair Color: Black Height: 5-6 Next of Kin: Marie Smalls