Joseph Stasiukaitis Obituary

Joseph Stasiukaitis SUMMERVILLE - On January 9, 2023, Joseph Stasiukaitis, 88, died peacefully at his home in Summerville, SC. A Memorial Service will be held at Bethany United Methodist Church, Summerville, on Friday, January 13, 2023, at 11:00am. Visitation will be Thursday, January 12, 2023, from 6:00pm-8:00pm at Parks Funeral Home. Memorials can be made to the Stasiukaitis Family Foundation in care of the Coastal Community Foundation. In 1953, Joe joined the Air Force and served in Korea as a civil engineer and carpenter, earning his US citizenship in 1954. In 1955, he settled in Charleston and worked on the base for many years, achieving GS-9, and earning an associate degree in Civil Engineering in 1971. Joe's greatest passion was his love for Jesus Christ which inspired him to touch thousands of lives throughout the US and places like Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Romania, and Honduras. He founded Bethany Methodist Global Missions in 1987 and led teams to build orphanages, dental, eye, and tuberculosis clinics, schools, and churches. When his health failed, he raised support for West Africans during the Ebola outbreak in 2014, and through God's Little Bird: A War Orphan's Story, a book about his life, he raised funds for the Bahamas recovering from Hurricane Dorian in 2019. Most miraculously, when Joe learned his entire family survived the war, the family reunited after four decades of separation. This reunion allowed him to respond to the desperate needs in Lithuania. In addition to Sara, his beloved wife of 52 years, and his parents, Tomas and Magdalena, Joe was predeceased by his sister, Salomi; brothers, Antonis and Vitas; great-granddaughter, Anele. Joe leaves behind his daughters, Sara Elizabeth Yoder (Bryan) of Clemson, SC, Anna Ellis (Jim) of Summerville, SC, Lola Norman (Larry) of Summerville, SC, Katherine Hensley of Summerville, SC; sons, Robert Stasiukaitis (Brenda) of Summerville, SC, Paul Stasiukaitis (Crystal) of Summerville, SC; 11 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Arrangements by PARKS FUNERAL HOME, 130 W. 1st North Street, Summerville, SC 29483. www.parksfuneralhome.com. Visit our guestbook at legacy.com/obituaries/charleston