What always amazed me was Joe's patience as an indecisive kid had a white knuckle strangle-hold on a quarter and ate up an entire half hour of his time trying to get the exact combination of penny candy that provided the most satisfaction. Now I know Joe couldn't have been in the business for 50 cents an hour. Nevertheless, has was a defining characteristic of Roslindale at that time.

What always amazed me is that We would always wait a good hour at the Sycamore end of the St. cause our lazy buts wouldn't get up and walk down to the School Yard. Poor Joe! Man, he was patient. I miss the rhythmic tapping on the Ice cream chests!!

Awww, I love Joe. He's the sweetest man. I think it's safe to say that we all had the greatest Ice Cream Man ever!!

Amy, you should post the photo you have of Joe!

I just posted it. Joe's the best!


Joe Condron is his full name

That's funny Amy I was wondering what it was the other day LOL Thanks!

We LOVED Joe!

Joe was the nicest and best ice cream man ever! We would all yell JOE!
He was always so patient and kind! I wonder what happen to him?

i still owe him $30.00

Joe was "The Man"....We used to wait for Joe at the park at the bottom of Dale St and every so often an imposter would try moving in on Joe s route! They would come in their rundown trucks.....not have even half the selection that Joe did and we werent above telling them to beat it...this is Joes turf!!!Joe was soo awesome...you felt so important .....the ice cream man knew YOUR name!!and if you were really lucky a picture of you on his truck!!(also Joe would give now let you pay later!!)Wherever you are Joe....We Love and miss ya!!

Oh I loved joe!! I remember being a teen and looking at all his pictures on his truck and finding one of me and friends from when we were little. he was the best!!!

OMG, Joe the ice cream man was the best!

10 cent freezepops and frozen panda punches-joe rocked. Lets not forget the multiple trips to his house on halloween. I would still trick or treat at his house if i could

Joe the Ice Cream Man was the Greatest. He had everyones pictures on there from Roslindale. Remember when he would let us take turns helping him hand out the ice cream and candy. That was a big deal for us kids down in the Terrace.

Joe was the best ice cream man ever!!!! He always cleared out his inventory at Halloween! Lucky us. He lived down the street from me, and we would wait at his house if we missed him earlier on his route, and he never minded! I loved that man!

Oh...I Loved Joe!!! He was the best!!! The brown truck! =)

Wow talk about old memories, had totally forgotten about "Joe" he was the best!! Very patient and kind...I remember if he used to come around durning supper, we would be freakin out wantin to get something from him and my dad wouldnt threaten that he was "gonna shoot the bastard"...he never even owned a gun, but I was scared for Joe until I was like 12 and old enough to know better...

Hi All,

Sad news....Joe passed away on 10-21-09. Very sad.

Here's <a href="http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/bostonglobe/obituary.aspx?n=joseph-m-condron&pid=134837532">his death notice</a>.

Such sad news... Heaven is a better place now.

joe was part of our youth. We will never forget!!!!

Hello Everyone!

I'm one of Joe's grandchildren. It is so heart warming to see so many nice posts about him on Facebook! Gina, Joe would have loved your story as he had an amazing sense of humor :)

I am Joe's daughter.Thanks for sharing your memories.
You were all very special to him

Joseph Condron Sr. of Roslindale, WWII cryptographer, consultant to Nigerian postal service, small businessman; 88

Mr. Condron was a man of many interests and careers. During WWII, he served as a radio teletype operator in the Army Air Corps, encrypting and decrypting messages for the South Pacific campaign. He survived several close calls as his squadron traveled northward from Australia to New Guinea, the Philippines, and ultimately to IE Shima, where the famous war correspondent Ernie Pyle died. Upon his return to Boston, he worked at the Veterans’ Hospital in West Roxbury, where he met his future wife, Katherine (Vogel) Condron.

Subsequently, Mr. Condron had a long and successful career in the administration of the New England Regional Office of the U.S. Postal service, which led to a position with Max O. Urbahn International Ltd. as a consultant to the Nigerian postal service. During one of Mr. Condron’s stays in Nigeria, there was a failed military coup. It was a frightening time, with armed military troops patrolling the area and public executions. Mr. Condron and his associates fled to the American embassy for a time until order was restored. Despite the unrest, Mr. Condron loved Nigeria. He enjoyed traveling throughout the country and learning about Nigerian culture and traditional arts.

Never one to sit still, Mr. Condron embarked on a new career as “Joe the Ice Cream Man” after his retirement from the consulting firm. Being young at heart, he had an eye for products that appealed to children, and turned his ice cream truck into a rolling variety store. Because of his rapport with the children and their families, Mr. Condron became a beloved and well-known figure in Roslindale and surrounding communities. Even after he retired, hundreds of children from his route visited him on Halloween each year, a reunion he anticipated with great pleasure. He made additional friends, both young and old, in his final career at the gift shop of the Museum of Science.

As a youngster, Mr. Condron spent his summer days at the nearby Arnold Arboretum, and developed a deep love of nature that lasted a lifetime. His three children have many happy memories of playing at the Arboretum while Mr. Condron waxed and polished his beloved 1948 Plymouth. Not until the whole car shone like a mirror would he join his children and wife Katherine on walks along Arboretum paths, delightedly pointing out the places where he had picked blueberries and chestnuts and, not so delightedly, where he had fallen from a tree and ruptured his appendix.

Mr. Condron was devoted to his wife, and she to him. They reveled in each other’s successes and cooperated on many things throughout their marriage, including running the Hyde Park Ceramic Center during the 1960s. They were happily married for 57 years, and he was devastated by her death in March 2005. Deeply religious since childhood, he found solace and support in the Holy Name Church in West Roxbury and often commented on how fortunate he was to be part of the parish.

According to Mr. Condron’s daughter Kathy, “My father was a role model until the day he died. A man of boundless energy, it was hard to keep up with him even at the age of 88. He was a man of deep integrity, unshakable faith, and incredible determination. He treated everyone with kindness and respect, and in return he was widely loved and respected. He was always well dressed, regardless of the weather or occasion, and was famous around the neighborhood for mowing the lawn in a freshly pressed white dress shirt, tie, dress pants, and brightly-shined black shoes.”

Mr. Condron is survived by his daughter Kathy Shinopoulos and son-in-law George of Westwood, his son Joseph Condron and daughter-in-law Margaret of Reseda, CA, and his daughter Janice Condron of Mashpee. He is further survived by grandchildren Troy Gauthier, Jessica Williamson, Jennifer Lyke, Katherine Shinopoulos and Stephen Shinopoulos and great grandchildren Isaiah Lyke, Andrew Lyke, T.Q. Williamson, Matthew Williamson, and Ella Williamson.

i ran into joe the ice cream man last year at roche bros. he remembered who i was and actually said hello to me first i was always a fan of him growing up and he always knew the way to my heart (swedish fish) he dropped off pictures to my house with all the bateman st kids including myself. he will surely be missed by all ♥

Joe's house was the highlight of halloween... it was always the first house my brothers and I would run to. It was directly behind us, we shared back yards in a sense.
I have many fond memories of growing up on Delano Park, playing outside for hours after dinner and waiting for his truck to come along. Loved those little sherbert cone cup thingies with the gumball on the bottom.

I also loved his porch swing. I remember escaping from the yard when I was about three or four, and my mother finally found me a little later sitting on it.

Chinese gum and Frozen Tini's.. those were the days. Joe was great guy and like everyone said was he is part of some of our great childhood memories. He will always be remembered as the great guy he was.

He was so sweet. No matter how late it would be after his route, when he pulled his truck into his drive at the end of the day, he always had time for us to run across the street and wait forever for my brother to make a choice!!! I remember when he came to my son's first birthday and I opened the card and realized that "the ice cream man " wasn't his last name and he had a real one. I am going to miss seeing him across the street sitting on his porch as he has in recent years.

Joe (the Ice Cream Man) is one of the greatest men I have ever met in my life. He was a role model to me and all my friends. I wish I knew how he remembered everyones names. I hope that when I have kids and they grow, that they will have someone like Joe around also.