Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, 20 Mar 2004
PHARMACIST WAS DEDICATED TO HIS FAITH
Kaule's Pharmacy in West View was thought of by many customers as a home away from home. Pharmacist Joe Kaule not only dispensed medicine, but was willing to listen to someone with a problem or to discuss the merits of go-cart racing, operating a ham radio or playing the harmonica or violin.
Joseph A. Kaule, of West View, former owner of the pharmacy, died on Thursday, March 18, 2004. He was 84. Born and raised on Troy Hill, Mr. Kaule was one of five children in the family of Adolph and Mary Smith Kaule.
His father, a graduate of St. Vincent College, operated a jewelry store on Chestnut Street on the North Side. His mother was well-known for her culinary skills, which were chronicled in a book about women from Troy Hill.
In 1938, Mr. Kaule graduated from Central Catholic High School in Oakland, where he was considered a top swimmer. He continued swimming while attending the University of Pittsburgh and in 1942 received his degree in pharmacy.
As a medical administrative officer during World War II, Mr. Kaule was assigned to the 137th Evacuation Hospital in Europe, and helped get wounded soldiers ready to be moved to hospitals. "Dad saw a lot," said his son, David Kaule, "but he seldom talked about it." Prior to leaving for active duty, Mr. Kaule met Betty Tegethoff at the Sarah Heinz House on the North Side. They corresponded during the years he was away and upon his discharge in 1946 were married and made their home in West View. They had 10 children.
Before opening his pharmacy on Center Avenue in West View in 1955, Mr. Kaule worked at several drugstores, including Lincoln Pharmacy in Millvale.
David Kaule said all of the children worked with their father when they were growing up. "My older sisters worked at the soda fountain before Dad took it out. My brothers and I cleaned, stocked shelves and made deliveries. "Dad would take a dinner break at six every evening. We were all required to be there. There were no excuses. Dad would then go back to the store where he worked until he closed at nine."
Mr. Kaule's niece, Mildred "Pinky" McGlothlin, recalled her aunt and uncle's devotion to their church. "They both lived their Catholic faith. Uncle Joe attended Mass every morning at St. Athanasius Church (West View). After Mass, he'd go to the store and worked there until late in the evening."
McGlothlin said her uncle kept a telephone near his bed. "If there was an emergency, Uncle Joe never hesitated to get out of bed to fill a prescription," she said.
Mr. Kaule was a ham radio operator, a hobby he picked up from his uncle, William Smith, who heard about the end of World War II on a ham radio.
Mr. Kaule is survived by his wife, Betty Tegethoff Kaule; four sons, David and Joseph, both of Ross, and Michael and Robert, both of West View; five daughters, Ruth Ann McKelvey, of Akron, Ohio, Kathleen Grabenstein, of Ross, Linda Gariano, of Chicago, Elizabeth Szymczak, of Baden, Beaver County, and Eileen Helwig, of Illinois; 26 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
He was predeceased by a son, Thomas; four sisters, Ruth and Alma Kaule, Helen Botzer and Mildred Good; and two grandsons, Jason and Christopher Kaule.
Visitation is from 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. today and Sunday at T.B. Devlin Funeral Home, 806 Perry Highway, Ross. A Mass of Christian Burial will be offered at 10 a.m. Monday in St. Athanasius Church, West View. Interment will be in North Side Catholic Cemetery, Ross.