Eastford, CT-Staff Sgt. Joseph E. Phaneuf II, 38, of Cozy Road died Friday, December 15, 2006 in Afghanistan. He was the loving husband of Michele (Kozey) Phaneuf for eleven years. Born in Putnam, he was the son of Peter Phaneuf of Dayville, Ct. and Barbara (Ortega) Phaneuf of Killingly.
Staff Sgt. Phaneuf joined the Headquarters Company of the First Battalion 102nd Infantry Brigade in New Haven in November of 2005. He was also deployed to Iraq in February of 2004 with the Connecticut Guard’s 118th Medical Battalion. Prior to his service in Afghanistan, he worked as a field operating technician for T-Mobil for five years.
Joseph was a member of the Eastford Volunteer Fire Department and also coached basketball, T-ball and baseball. He enjoyed photography and golf and was an avid Michigan Wolverine fan.
Besides his wife and his parents, he is survived by three beloved childrenn, Ryan Phaneuf, Danielle Phaneuf and Jordan Phaneuf, all at home; three brothers, Dennis Phaneuf of Medford, Ma., Tony Phaneuf of Killingly, and Rob Phaneuf of East Putnam; three sisters, Tiffany Gion of Killingly, Holly Grube of Eastford, and Veronica Mobley of Montville; father and mother in-law, Greg and Teddy (LaBarre) Kozey of Eastford; a sister-in law, Sharon Kozey of Eastford and 13 nieces and nephews.
Friends and relatives are invited to visit with Joseph’s family on Tuesday, December 26 from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. in the Gilman Funeral Home, 104 Church Street, Putnam, Ct.
A Mass of Christian Burial will be held 11am Wednesday, December 27 at St. Patrick Cathedral, 213 Broadway, Norwich, Ct. Burial with military honors will be held in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Phaneuf Children’s Education Fund c/o NewAlliance Bank, PO Box 71, Eastford, CT 06242.
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June Mineau
My ex-husband & I were in the 250th Eng. Co with Joey, Darren was actually in Joey’s platoon but we were all pretty good friends. Joey was a super awesome guy. For whatever reason, we had many conversations about training and preparing my son, Desmond for the military but I wanted to tell you that Joey’s name had been mentioned often with laughter, Joey used to say some of the funniest stuff. Desmond was young when Joey passed but he has heard Joey’s name many times, seen pictures of us in training and he has even been to Arlington Cemetery a few times to visit Joey’s grave. I still have tears and got choked up about Joey and the loss you have all suffered. I can’t imagine how hard this has been on you, and your kids. I just felt the need to leave you this message today and remind you that we loved Joey, Joey was a true hero & he will never be forgotten!