The Villager Newspaper Online Your Community News – Cleveland's Westshore
September 08, 1946 – May 29, 2021
In 1973, he met the love of his life, Leslie (nee Saladonis) Scaletta at a wrestling tournament. He knew immediately he “got himself a good one” and nine months later they were married. They have celebrated forty-seven years of marriage. Together they had four amazing children: Jonelle (Tom) Sear of Avon, Ohio; Amanda (Matt) Barnes of Galena, Ohio; Michael (Melissa) Scaletta of Avon, Ohio; and Giovanna (Myles) Bremke of Henrietta Township, Ohio. He is also survived by his sister Gayle Spadaro, of Avon, Ohio.
Joe is survived by ten grandsons and one granddaughter; Tommy, Ethan, and Elliott Sear; Nathan, Charlie, Frankie and Matthew Barnes; Joey and Luciana Scaletta; John and Daniel Bremke. His grandchildren called him “Pa” and loved spending time with him and learned their love of fishing, wrestling and “sh*t starting” from him.
Throughout his life Joe had many hobbies including fishing, water fowlhunting, traveling, and gardening. He passed many of these passions to his children and grandchildren. Joe and Leslie spent much of their married life in Avon, Ohio. The last ten years they resided six months a year on Kelleys Island, Ohio and six months of year on Don Pedro Island, Florida.
One of his proudest achievements was graduating from Ohio University with a Bachelors and Masters in Education. While a member of the Ohio University wrestling team, he became a student of the sport and developed lifelong friends. Joe’s passion for wrestling continued after college as he began teaching and coaching. He coached at Columbia High School and Bay Village High School. His Bay Village Team won a state title in 1972 and state runner up in 1976. In 2010, Joe was inducted into the Bay Village High School Athletic Hall of Fame and in 2019 was inducted in the National Wrestling Hall of Fame as an Outstanding Citizen.
In 1979, Joe decided to leave coaching and teaching to join his friend and mentor, Howard Ferguson, in real estate. In 1991, Joe formed his own company, Scaletta Development Corporation (SDC). His developments and home building were awarded over 150 awards from various associations.
Joe served on many boards including the Avon Board of Education, Leadership of Lorain County, Northcoast Home Builders Association and Ohio Home Builders Association.
In 2015, Joe and Leslie founded the Ohio Chapter of Reel Recovery and have since raised $100,000 for the organization. Reel Recovery is a national nonprofit that conducts 3-day fishing retreats for men who have cancer at no cost to the participants.
Joe and his family would like to thank Dr. Brian Rini, former Cleveland Clinic Oncologist and “Dr.” Laura Wood RN, MSN, OCN of the Cleveland Clinic for their outstanding care which extended his life beyond expectations.
