At the heart of the community; remembering ‘Joe’ McTamney

Joseph E. “Joe” McTamney, of Nichols, N.Y., passed away on Jan. 31, 2022. He was 81. McTamney owned and operated the historic Owego Parkview for nearly forty years with his wife, Louise. The couple had recently celebrated 61 years of marriage.

Family and friends remember McTamney as devoted to his family, honest, hard working and community-minded. A 1958 Owego Free Academy graduate, Joe also managed the Owego Bowl before purchasing the Parkview in 1972.

Joe was a member of St. Patrick’s Church, American Legion Post 401, the V.F.W. Post 1371 Auxiliary, the Owego Moose Lodge, and a lifelong member of Croton Hose Company 3.

The oldest continuously operated business in the Village of Owego since 1867, the solid four-decade Parkview run by the couple is a testament to the landmark’s history. Along with their original partners, Clyde Barnes and Emily and Leo Van Wie, they invested their lives in making the property a family place, and where Joe felt it important to know everyone’s name.

At McTamney’s funeral held at St. Patrick’s Church on Feb. 7, Joe and Louise’s four daughters offered Words of Remembrance.  

Kris Neri, the McTamney’s fourth daughter, shared that her father had hoped for a boy by the time she was born while JoAnne Murphy, the couple’s first daughter, explained that when each daughter wed, Joe finally got his sons.

JoAnne added, “And then the grandchildren started arriving, and they were the joy of his life.” 

The McTamney’s had planned to retire in September 2011, although the historic flood that year delayed that transition. 

Michelle Kraines, the McTamney’s third daughter, recalled that the Parkview’s sale was set for Sept. 12, 2011, however floodwaters engulfed the Village.

Michelle remarked, “The Parkview was flooded with eighteen inches of water on the first floor. The dream of retirement was not lost, but was delayed.”

The McTamney’s then witnessed an outpouring of love and support as family, friends and residents, both local and out-of-town, committed hundreds of hours of volunteer labor, and where Joe’s saying, “love your neighbor as yourself,” played out. Remarkably, and by Thanksgiving, the Parkview was readied for sale and sold on Dec. 9.

Michelle noted, “Dad taught us what community is. Going forward, we should take the things we learned from him and the way he touched each of our lives, and carry those forward.”

Several McTamney family members worked at the Parkview, and the establishment offered many others their first jobs, too. A common sentiment shared is that St. Patrick’s Day was the best day to work there.

The McTamney daughters recalled that by the age of six, with clam knife in hand, they would shuck clams by the dozens for hours, and to the delight of guests and their father.

Kelley Peron, the McTamney’s second daughter, shared, “Dad ran a tight ship at the Parkview,” and along with solid expectations, the one rule to never neglect was “always ice the beer.”

Favorite sayings Joe often repeated, too, were, “Many hands make light work,” and, “If there’s time to lean, there’s time to clean.”

McTamney held an admiration and a special place in his heart for military veterans, fire and emergency workers, among others.

Kelley noted, “He loved his country and always wished that he had served, although he was given the gift of serving his community.”

Joe’s father fought in World War I, and two of his older brothers fought in World War II. Joe’s brother, Francis “Bud” McTamney, lost his life in the war, and his name is inscribed on the World War II Memorial in Owego.

Parkview history will never forget St. Patrick’s Day in 1999 when a customer hit a $45 million lottery jackpot. 

Michelle shared, “The New York State Lottery called Dad at 6 a.m. the next morning and asked him to take an oath that he wouldn’t tell who won.”

The winner, Floyd (Vic) Hooker, who at the time lived in a small apartment above his favorite restaurant and pub, has since passed away, yet left behind a legacy. Today, a foundation in his name provides grants for non-profits that benefit the children of Tioga County. Some believe, too, that Hooker’s spirit still resides at the Parkview.

A childhood friend of McTamney’s, Dan Boland, shared that he is comforted by good memories. The duo attended St. Patrick’s School together through the eighth grade, and believes that their 1958 OFA class was one of the last to graduate from the former high school location. 

Another friend, Chuck Alger, whose family owned and operated the Ahwaga Hotel on the corner of Church and Front Streets, often made the duo a trio. Boland remembers the three friends running up and down the stairs at the former Ahwaga Hotel playing hide-and-seek, and which at the time was not open for guests. And then, flanked with flashlights, the boys took adventures through the cellars and tunnels that ran from the Ahwaga to as far as Lake Street. While underground, Boland recalled hearing the sound of footsteps from a former jewelry shop above.

Boland noted that he and Joe became Eagle Scouts together in 1954 while in Owego’s Troop 38. Boland said, “Joe was very proud of that accomplishment.”

That title stayed with McTamney throughout his life. The “once an Eagle Scout, always an Eagle Scout” mantra was tested many years later when Joe had to keep the lottery winner secret. 

Boland also told a story of an adventurous ride aboard the Phoebe Snow train. High school freshmen at the time, the duo hopped aboard the Buffalo-bound train at the Owego stop after school one day, along with Joe’s father, a Lackawanna Railroad conductor. Several passenger stops later, and during the wee hours, Boland remembers that the overnight train car home was very cold. Upon arriving in Owego and crunched for time, the friends ran to school from the station.

Joe got off the hook for his late excuse, Boland said, because he was a regular bus student. Boland though, a walker, was instructed to stay after school and where he had to write 500 times, “I will not be late.”

Boland chuckled as he remembered the times when he and Joe created a bunch of noise while speeding out of the OFA parking lot at the end of the school day. Boland, in his 1953 DeSoto, and Joe, sporting a 1953 Packard Convertible, would hit the gas hard while turning onto Main Street.

On another occasion when Joe drove out to Warren Center, Pa. to pick up his sweetheart, Louise, Boland recalls telling her that she looked like a movie star riding in that convertible with Joe.

McTamney is survived by his wife, Louise, four daughters and sons-in-laws, and several grandchildren and great-grandchildren, along with extended family and friends. You can read the full obituary and leave condolences at www.emfaheyfuneralhome.com.