Joseph A. Flaherty, Jr.

Visitation:  Monday, August 13th. 2-6 p.m. at Horton-Mathie Funeral Home 735 First Street Greenport

Funeral Mass:  Tuesday, August 14th. 10:00 a.m. at St. Agnes RC Church, 523 Front Street Greenport

A private interment will follow at Long Island National Cemetery, Farmingdale

Joseph A. Flaherty died at Peconic Landing, Greenport on August 7, 2018. Joe was born in Kansas City, Missouri on December 25, 1930. He received a physics degree from Rockhurst College in Kansas City in 1952 before joining the U.S. Army Signal Corps in 1953. After his service, he took a job with NBC in New York City, where he met his wife Jan. The couple were married in 1957 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. The couple moved to Port Washington, NY, where they lived for 46 years and raised their 5 children. In 2008, they moved to Peconic Landing where, last year, they celebrated their 60th Wedding Anniversary. By their 60th celebration, their family had grown to include 3 children by marriage and 8 grandchildren. 
Joe joined CBS in 1957 and would work there for almost 60 years, starting as a Television Design Engineer and eventually becoming CBS Vice President of Technology. His career path was marked by innovations that revolutionized television broadcasting and consumer electronics. Chief among these innovations were Electronic News Gathering (ENG) and High Definition Television (HDTV).  Joe received many awards in recognition of his contributions to the television industry. He was awarded four Technical Emmy Awards and two personal lifetime achievement Emmy Awards. Internationally, he was awarded the French Legion of Honor, the Swiss Montreux Achievement Gold Medal, the Vladimir Zworykin award, and many others.
Following his death, members of the television engineering industry have issued public tributes:
CBS's Robert Siedel honored Joe with this statement: "Dr. Joseph Flaherty’s lifetime of television innovation is unmatched in the television industry. His efforts have brought real-time global events into our living rooms and through the clarity of HDTV made the viewer feel “as if they were there”. If anyone is to be credited with creating the 'Television Global Village', it’s Joe Flaherty. Thank you Joe, for being a Television Technology Ambassador to the world."
Gordon Smith, the President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), remarked that "Broadcasters have lost a friend and broadcast innovators have lost a true legend with the passing of Joe Flaherty. Joe’s career at CBS spanned more than half a century, culminating as Senior Vice President of Technology. His accomplishments in the field of electronic news gathering and his pioneering role as the ‘Father of HDTV’ will never be forgotten.” 
Joe is predeceased by his son, Mark. He is survived by his wife Jan, his sons Patrick, Daniel (Traci), Michael (Ann), and Timothy, his daughter Margaret Griffith (Jeff Griffith), his sister Kathleen Cresto, and 8 grandchildren.
A wake will be held on Monday, August 13th. 2-6 p.m. at the Horton-Mathie Funeral Home in Greenport.  A Funeral Mass will held on Tuesday, August 14th  10:00 a.m. at St. Agnes Church in Greenport, followed by a private burial at the Long Island National Cemetery in Farmingdale, NY. 
 
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made to the Community Fund of Peconic Landing, 1500 Brecknock Rd., Greenport, NY, 11944 or to Saint Agnes Church, 523 Front St., Greenport, NY, 11944. Memorial donations can also be made to your local soup kitchen, food pantry, or homeless shelter.
 

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