A Tribute to our local, electronic savant...

Big Joe Carraher was our go-to guy for boiler controls and electronics that no one else could figure out how to fix or employ correctly. From The Brooklyn-Queens border out to Eastern Long Island, baffled contractors, Master Electricians, and homeowners would come from far and wide to Joe's counter at Christ Plumbing Supply (est. 1810) in New Hyde Park.

Joe would hand draw a schematic for you and being in the business for 60 years would show you the single most important thing: interfacing ancient controls to talk nice with the state-of-the art. No one was better! Joe was all.about keeping costs down and reusing and repurposing what you had to work with...lessons he learned under fire in Vietnam.

On many occasions, we marveled at Joe flipping over a control, studying the circuit board with a magnifying 🔎 glass and then saying:

"Ok...pass me my soldering Iron."

Big Joe cut his teeth on the front lines in Vietnam repairing Tanks and APCs under fire and through treacherous mine fields From 1968-1970 Joe fixed, repaired and rebuilt M48A3 Patton Tanks, M551 Sheridan Tanks and M113 Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicles with The Legendary Blackhorse Regiment, 11th Cav.

Joe did his own taxes and anyone's he could help, built computers and could figure anything out. After service in The 'Nam, Joe learned Hvac and had his own very successful business in Brooklyn for many years.

Around 1999, he packed it in and became Co-owner of Christ Plumbing Supply with Chris Smith, where he held court at the counter for the next 25 yrs.

Joe and Chris are "Fambly" (John Steinbeck) to me. How blessed I am to have such High Caliber business associates who became Fambly? Life is hard, but Life is Good! Yesterday Joe was buried with Full, U.S. Army Honors 🎖 at Calverton National Cemetery. A Life lived to the fullest! Love you man, "Matty Boy"