Joseph A. Giuffrida

Middleburgh: Joseph A. Giuffrida passed away peacefully at home into the Kingdom of Heaven to receive his Heavenly reward on March 5th 2017.

He is survived by his wife Maria Giuffrida, daughter Nancy Brewington, sons Sandy (Marja) Giuffrida, Anthony (Rose) Giuffrida, and Joe Giuffrida, and grandchildren Lisa, Jessica, Anthony, Jeanine, Joe(Staci), Danielle, Connor (Renee) and three great grandchildren.

Joe was a full-fledged barber at age 14, and was already able to run his father’s barber shop on Saturdays, by himself, to give his dad a break. After enlisting in the United States Army in 1941, Joe was quickly recruited as a barber for incoming enlisted men, once it was discovered that this was his profession. Although he trained as a member of the Army Cardiac Medical Core, when Joe landed in England as part of the Army Medical 96th General Hospital, he was once again drafted to work with a fellow recruit as a hair stylist for women officers. His talent was so obvious to his superiors that they decided to send him to Paris, France to be taught by French hair stylists. When Joe returned home, he was able to open his first hair salon with the compensation money that he saved from cutting hair while in England.

He went on to open four more hair salons in Queens and Long Island in the 1950’s and 1960’s. In 1973 Joe and his wife moved to Middleburgh where he opened a hair styling shop in his home on Route 145. But when Joe vacationed in Bradenton, Florida in 1997 he got the bug for the warmer weather, and decided to leave upstate New York. He didn’t give up the comb and scissors, though, working as a barber up until 2012 when he finally retired at age 90. He recently returned to Middleburgh to purchase, for the second time, the same home where he had opened the Hair Style Shop in 1974. Of all the many moves he and his wife made through the years, he called Middleburgh his real home.

While no formal services are planned at this time, Joe's life will continue to be celebrated and remembered by his family, friends and many patrons he served through the years.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the Coltrain Funeral Home, Middleburgh.

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