Joseph Y. Kaukeinen

Passed away on May 14, 2026 at the age of 90.

Predeceased by his parents, Melvin Kaukeinen & Gertrude Harmon; brother, Melvin Kaukeinen; step-siblings, Kenneth Harmon & Colleen Jones.

He is survived by his wife of 67 years, Phyllis; daughter, Kimberly; son, Doug (Deirdre); grandchildren, Corey, Taylor, Britt, and Kyle; sister, Linda Esposit; step-sister Sally Hollick; many nieces, nephews and cousins.

Joe grew up in rural Oriole, PA. After the sudden death of his father, Joe quickly started working to help his mother support their family; he was only 11 years old. His first job was a 9 mile paper route he completed on his Monarch bicycle. He graduated from Jersey Shore High School in 1954, and then served in the U.S. Air Force from 1954 to 1958. His work with electrical and radar systems took him around the states and abroad. After returning home from England, he married his sweetheart Phyllis in 1958.

Joe and Phyllis moved to NY with their first child on the way. Joe worked at Corning Glass Works as a lab tech while also taking night classes at Elmira College. After Kim was born, and with encouragement from a mentor for Joe to further his education, they decided to move their family to Buffalo. They scrimped while Joe enrolled full time at State University of New York at Buffalo. He earned his B.A. in Physics in 1964 at 28 years of age.

They relocated to Rochester where Joe worked at Kodak as a physicist in the research labs. In 1966 they bought a vacant lot in Greece, where they built their new home. He retired from Kodak at 57. After working at RIT for a few years, Kodak asked him to return as consultant. He worked 25 more years at Kodak, and is the holder of over 20 patents.

Throughout his hardworking life, Joe provided for his family in many ways. He encouraged learning and adventure. This included swimming, racquet sports, domestic and world travel, photography, and sailing. He was a certified USTA tennis coach and guided the Arcadia HS varsity teams for years. Competitive sailboat racing was a huge part of Joe’s life, but it all started with pleasure sailing on a Snipe sailboat, then a 26-ft Pearson, then long-distance racing with a Dragon, and finally crewing on a Thistle sailboat at the Rochester Canoe Club. He was a member there for over 50 years, where also raced his own Sunfish. Thistle sailing became a family affair with Doug skippering and Joe and Kim crewing as a Thistle team. Phyllis volunteered her time on the race committee boat, making competitive one-design sailboat racing a true family activity. Traveling to regattas was always an adventure with Joe, who often was the life of the post-racing regatta party. When his grandchildren started to sail (which didn’t take long), he was proud to have 3 generations of family at RCC. This was especially fitting, as RCC became a second home for Joe after he retired; already Mr. Fix-It to his family and neighbors, he spent countless hours at the club fixing hoists, docks, safety boat engines, lawnmowers, and anything else in need of repair. With all his efforts, RCC remained fully functional. When not on the water during warmer months, Joe could be found on the ski slopes at Bristol, taking his grandkids sledding, or starting epic snowball fights.

No prior calling hours.

A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joseph’s honor to: St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Rochester Regional Health Home Care and Hospice Care, or Foodlink. Please follow the donation links below:

https://www.stpaulhilton.org/

https://www.rochesterregional.org/giving/ways-to-support

(Select RRH - Hospice Care Fund)

https://foodlinkny.org/donate/

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