Joe Carbo
Chief Engineer

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Chief Engineer Joe Carbo, a longtime and beloved engine room volunteer aboard the Liberty ship SS JOHN W BROWN, and a retired merchant marine engineer who sailed around the world 14 times, died March 14, 2010, at the age of 82.

Joe was born and raised in South Philadelphia within sight of the Delaware River and the ships steaming in and out of port. When he graduated from Bishop Neumann High School in 1945 he chose against enlisting in the Army, and an eye problem made him ineligible for naval service. One day he saw a sign that said, "Merchant Marine Needs Men," and, at 18, he made the decision to go to sea. After graduating from the U.S. Maritime Service Training Station at Sheepshead Bay, New York, at the end of 1945, Joe went to work as a mess man aboard SS MADAWASKA VICTORY, which transported American troops from England and France to New York. He later advanced to working in ships' engine rooms, where he eventually became chief engineer and found his life's work.

While recuperating at the old Marine Hospital in 1949, Joe met Genevieve Mildred Jacobs, a registered nurse. Joe returned to sea but couldn't forget the young Baltimore nurse who cared for him for three months. The couple married in 1958 and settled in Baltimore, living in the same house for 52 years.

During his years at sea, one of Joe’s hobbies was throwing bottles from his ships containing letters he had written. One bottle found its way to the west coast of Ireland, where an 8-year-old girl from County Mayo, walking the beach one day, found it lodged in the rocks. She wrote to Joe and the two remained correspondents until his death.

In 1964, Joe left the sea and returned to Baltimore, where he became supervisor and later superintendent of heating plants for the Baltimore City Housing Authority.

One day in 1988 while he was enjoying a drink in Duda's Tavern at Broad and Thames streets in Baltimore, Joe saw an advertisement asking for volunteers to come to work and help get JOHN W BROWN back in steam and sailing again. Two years later, after retiring, Joe went to the ship, where he became assistant chief engineer under DeLacy L. "Cookie" Cook. Joe refused to let heart surgery, two hip replacements, cataract surgery and a final struggle with cancer keep him away from his engine room. He never wanted to be chief engineer and was happy just to work in the engine room, but when Cookie died in 2009, Joe succeeded him as chief.

Joe is survived by his wife, a sister and a godson, and by his many friends aboard the BROWN.