Joseph John Filipski

January 25, 1956 – August 11, 2024

Joseph John Filipski was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, son, brother, uncle, cousin and friend. He was born in Chicago, Illinois, the fourth of seven children, to Marie and Leonard Filipski.

Joe grew up in a happy home in Woodridge, Illinois, where he excelled in shotput and discus in high school. His sophomore discus record throw remained untouched for several decades. After graduation in 1974, he attended college and worked in a variety of jobs until his brother Steve, who lived in Plano, suggested he move to Texas.

Joe headed south to Dallas in 1978 and began management work in the food service industry. At the time, he didn't know that what he learned there would lead him to owning his own restaurants later in life.

In 1980, he met his future wife Tina at The Village apartment complex, where they were neighbors. Six months later they were engaged but the wedding had to wait. Being a lifelong patriot, Joe wanted to give back to his country and enlisted in the U.S. Air Force Reserves in December1980. After completing basic training, he attended technical training school at Lowry AFB in Denver, Colorado, where he was trained on fire control weapons systems. He graduated with honors in December 1981.

He and Tina married in April 1982 and welcomed daughter Lauren in 1986 and son Ryan in 1989.

Over the course of his career, Joe fulfilled several of his passions. He worked as a sales technician for several years before leaving to open his first pizza restaurant, Flip's, in January 1990. Later, his curiosity in technology led him to become a programmer at UPS where he worked for nearly 30 years. After retirement, he became an IT consultant for UPS, a role he continued until his health failed. In addition to consulting, he owned and operated his second restaurant, Palio's Pizza Cafe, a venture he thoroughly enjoyed.

Joe was a true foodie, an excellent cook and a shrewd ​self-appointed food critic​. He could always think of another ingredient or something extra that would take a dish to the next level. His pizza had to be thin crust, baked in a wood or coal-fired oven with only the finest Italian sausage. He favored Ree​s​e's Peanut Butter Cups, Twix and Dots (only the red ones.) He learned how to decipher the manufacturing date on the back of the wrappers and taught his family how​ to​ do it as well. The best ice cream, in his opinion, was Haagen Daz vanilla. Everything he made was exceptional – especially his chocolate chip cookies, a recipe he developed himself and continued to tweak throughout his life. Joe never used a recipe or wrote one down – he went on intuition and taste, the mark of a true chef.

Joe also loved to fish and for the last few years of his life​,​ he kept a pontoon boat at Scott's Landing on Lake Grapevine. There, he spent many happy, relaxing afternoons gliding across the lake and fishing with Tina, family and friends.

​​The true ​loves of Joe's life were his family. He knew he was blessed to have such a large and loving family, and then to have children and grandchildren filled his heart beyond capacity. He was thrilled when Harper Grace was born in 2017 and Hayes Landon was born in 2020. As a grandfather, he took on one of his greatest roles yet, and became the infamous Grand Joe. He created a whole new world with the kids, playing and being silly around the house, telling them adventurous stories about Simpy Mouse (a character his father had created years ago) and educating them on the classics he enjoyed as a kid: Bozo the Clown and Superman.

Joe was one of the good guys. He loved others and was loved by so many in return. He had a great sense of humor, was incredibly smart, truly cared about other people and was quietly generous with his time and money. He enjoyed a wide variety of interests including ​listening to ​rock and roll, watching cooking shows and old westerns, online investing, vacationing at the beach – especially Destin and Santa Barbara – and was a tireless Chicago Bears fan.

Joe is preceded in death by his father Leonard Filipski, brother Steve Filipski and beloved beagle Madison. He is survived by his wife Tina Berres Filipski; daughter Lauren DeFord and her husband Matt DeFord; son Ryan Filipski; grandchildren Harper and Hayes DeFord; mother Marie Filipski; brothers Michael Filipski, Gary Filipski, David Filipski; sisters Barbara Gardine and Diane Vermilye; and many brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, cousins, nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, August 31 at 11 am at St. Vincent's Cathedral, 1300 Forest Ridge Dr., Bedford, Texas. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Tunnel to Towers, www.t2t.org.

Joe's Famous Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 stick butter

6 T. white sugar

6 T. brown sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 egg

¾ C. flour

¼ t. salt

½ t. baking soda

¼ C. oats

1 C. milk chocolate chips

1 C. chopped pecans, sprinkled with sugar and salt and toasted until a golden brown

Mix all ingredients, drop on to a greased cookie sheet several inches apart and bake at 325 for 12-15 minutes.