Joseph A. Bach, Sr.

Joseph A. Bach, Sr. ’56, 85, passed away on Wednesday, December 27, 2023. He was the husband of Charlene Bach.

Joseph Allan Bach, Sr, 85, of Pittsburgh, PA peacefully passed away on December 27, 2023. He was born in the Pittsburgh area in 1938 to Kenneth and Diamera Bach. Joe attended the Milton Hershey School in Hershey, PA (Class of 1956) where he was awarded one of the first National Merit Scholarships. He then went to Carnegie Mellon University (then Carnegie Tech) to major in mathematics.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Jacqulyn, and is survived by his second wife of 44 years, Charlene (Morgan) Bach. He is also survived by his six children; Tina, Joseph Jr, Bonnie, Diamera, Jessica, and Alison. He was the eldest of his siblings, who all survive him: Kenneth (Deborah) Bach, Barbara Kuhl, Larry (Jerilyn) Bach, Jenny (Drew) Gordon, Edmund (Morgan) Bach, Steve (Linda) Gore, and Michael (Becky) Gore. Joe had four grandchildren and many nieces and nephews. He will be deeply missed by the entire family.

After serving in the U.S. Air Force, he began his lengthy career in the defense technology industry with the J.W. Fecker company, which later became Contraves Goerz Corporation. During his career he developed software for land and space-based telescopes, laser trackers, machine vision equipment, to mention a few. He was admired and respected by his colleagues.

But his real passion was golf, which he played three times a week, and watching football, particularly the Pittsburgh Steelers. Many of us remember the need to get Joe a “Bad Call Brick” to throw at the television when the officials made questionable calls.

He will be remembered for his brilliance, his wit, his charm, his laugh, and his amazing smile. The family will have a private memorial. Should you wish to honor his memory, please donate to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org to help with advanced research to end this terrible disease.