Joseph Angelo Armento

Joseph Angelo Armento 73, of Chicago, Illinois, passed from this life on May 9, 2013 in Bentonville, Arkaknsas. Joseph was born and raised on the south side of Chicago, Illinois to Irkcoustine Joseph and Paul Anthony Armento, Jr. on March 20, 1940. The Armento’s were a highly regarded esteemed family who founded Armento Realty and managed several rental properties in the Hyde Park area of Chicago. Joseph was most proud of his historic roots which traced back on his father’s side to Shandy Wesley Jones, the first African American elected official of Tuscaloosa County Alabama and 1 of 26 members of Alabama’s first Legislative Black Caucus. This family history is detailed in a book entitled “The Descendants of Shandy Wesley Jones and Evalina Love Jones: The Story of an African American Family of Tuscaloosa,” co-authored by Joseph’s cousin Ophelia Pinkard (http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20090323/NEWS/903219957?p=1&tc=pg&tc=ar). His maternal grandfather, Irkcous Joseph, was one of the founding members of Victory Savings Bank in Columbia, South Carolina - one of the 1st black owned banks in the country. Joseph cherished his family history because of his family’s contribution to black history and the fact that his family was amongst the minority of African American families who were able to trace and document their American roots with such detail. Continuing his family’s legacy of helping others, Joseph worked in Chicago with the Cook County Housing Authority as a social worker from 1966-1971. He attended Atlanta University from 1971-1973 where he received a Masters Degree in Social Work. He worked for the VA Hospital in Atlanta for 20 years, retiring on disability at age 50 after suffering a massive stroke at age 49. Joseph possessed a kind, warm, and gentle spirit and his demeanor was always friendly, positive, and up-beat. He would strike a conversation with anyone who was willing and always probed deeply to learn about the other person’s life, never failing to find even the slightest connections to his own. Joseph’s determination to live and overcome any obstacle was unyielding and was apparent until his body (not his mind) gave in to the various conditions resulting from the stroke nearly 25 year prior. Joseph was a member of the Chicago Chapter of Jack & Jill of America, Inc; Atlanta Alumni Chapter of Arkansas Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal (AMTN) now known as University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff; and the Metropolitan Atlanta Kiwanis Club. Joseph is preceded in death by his grandparents, parents, aunts, and brother, Paul A. Armento III,. Left to cherish his memory are his daughter, Angelite Armento-McWhorter and her husband, Kevin McWhorter of La Jolla, California; and two grandchildren Remi and Rheily McWhorter. Closest living relatives include his niece Courtney Armento-Irving; 4 first cousins Deborah Duke Ellis and Roderick Duke and their families and Margaret and Irkcous (Brother) Raines; and 1 second cousin Joanne Hamilton and her family. There will be a breakfast repass in Chicago, Illinois at a later date in June.

Joseph Angelo Armento

March 20, 1940 - May 9, 2013