GATHERING OF FRIENDS: November 2025

MEMORIES WITH JOE FURST

HIS PROFOUND EFFECT ON MY LIFE

I (Jim Miller) am an only child and cannot speak about sibling relationships with any authority. But I have had a relationship with my good friend Joe for a long time and consider him to be the brother I never had. Let me further explain.

We first met when I was 15 and just starting to work a summer job as a beach boy who rented umbrellas, chairs and rafts on the beach in Ocean City, NJ. My Dad managed the business and he put me with an older, more experienced worker to train me. That worker was Joe. My Dad probably realized what a good role model Joe was since he was attending the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. Little did he know or did I that our relationship that began that day would continue throughout our lifetime.

Incidentally, the very same week that I began my working career I met Carol Anne who has become my wife, lifelong partner and very best friend.

To get back to Joe: almost immediately we began hanging out together as young group of working guys and we would go to the boardwalk every night to joke, see friends and check out the girls. But this was a wholesome group of guys, mostly older high school or college guys and there was little or no cursing or fowl language, just a nice bunch of fellows to hang out with and be good role models for me. We attended Sunday evening church services together on the boardwalk because we worked on Sunday mornings. Carol Anne would often come along with us. We would have lengthy discussions about all kinds of things, especially religious topics. Many of these discussions took place on the roof of the Ocean Court Apartments where Joe lived with his family.

We continued being “buddies” through many summers and started to do things together throughout the fall, winter and spring seasons as well. We would often double date to places like the Sunnybrook Ballroom in Pottstown (that had live big bands for dancing on Saturday nights) or go to Philadelphia for some new movie that had just come out.

While I was in college, I took my first airplane ride from Philly to Pittsburg on a propeller plane and was picked up in Pittsburg by Joe and his friend Tom McGready. I had to take a flight because I had a Saturday morning class which I had to attend. They drove out and met me so that we could go on to Meadville, PA with them to Allegheny College to meet another summer friend, Bruce Robinson. Also, while in college, Joe and I came to OCNJ for a few days over the Christmas break and decided to go to New York for the evening to see if we could see a Broadway show. We were fortunate to get tickets to “The Sound of Music”. What a tremendous show to see as our first Broadway musical together. This was several years before the movie version was released.

Soon after college graduation, Carol Anne and I were married and Joe was our best man in our wedding. Several years later, it was Joe that mentioned that there was a job opening in the Financial Division of Philadelphia Electric Company where he worked. I interviewed for the position and got it. So I was working in the same small group of business professionals as my friend, Joe. I stayed with the Company for 28 years and most all of the time was spent in that same division. Joe moved on and eventually started his own financial partnership. The Financial division was a key area of the Company and several chief executives came from within our group and gave us a connection to these key people.

The Vietnam War was upon us and I signed up for the Army Reserve, to avoid being drafted. There was such a backlog of servicemen that needed to be processed through basic and advanced training but because of the war my training was delayed for about a year. After completing basic military training with the Army and knowing that my infantry unit was on high priority for being called to active duty to fight in the War, Joe (who was connected to the Air Force Reserve as an officer) found a way to transfer me into his Medical Service Flight in Dover, DE where I completed my military obligation without being called to fight on the front lines of the Vietnam War. Once again, thank you, Joe.

As time went by, we both had our children about the same time and they were Aunt Connie and Uncle Joe to my kids as we were Uncle Jim and Aunt Carol to their children. In time, I was able to join his financial partnership and its success enabled Carol Anne and I to send our three girls to college almost entirely covering the costs.

In those early years we often took vacations together, both with and without the children. Over the years we have vacationed together at Caneel Bay in St Johns, VI, Ocean City, NJ, the Outer Banks, Vieques, PR, Marco Island, FL.

Through the years, we continued to enjoy each others friendship with many meals, conversations and games while in Ocean City, NJ and serving together at the Ocean City Tabernacle on Sundays.

I wanted to write this down to let you know how influential Joe has been in my life as a good role model and guide to help me in many stages of my growing and adult years. I have been truly blessed to have known him (and Connie as well) and I am so thankful that God has put them in our lives. He is the brother I never had. And a huge “THANK YOU” to you, Joe.

Here are some photographic memories with Joe (some newer, some older, some much older).