Joseph John Solomon

Joseph John Solomon, loving husband to Barbara (Bobbie) Solomon (Barefoot) passed from this earth, surrounded by his loving family on Saturday, August 5th, due to complications from Alzheimer's disease. Born November 18, 1933 in Canonsburg PA, Joe and Barbara were married for 59 loving years. In addition to his wife, Joe is survived by his son John Solomon & Wife Michelle of Philadelphia PA, Dan Solomon and his wife Sandy of Carnegie PA and Diane Hrapla (Solomon) and her husband Jerry of Pittsburgh. Joe was loved and adored by all of his family and acquaintances but held a special place in his heart for his grandchildren, Brad & Delaney Solomon of Philadelphia and Dan & Joie Hrapla of Pittsburgh. Joe will also be remembered warmly and missed by all of his friends from Canonsburg & Washington PA.
While Joe was an outstanding and giving person and was always available to help those he could, he will be remembered by his friends for his outstanding 32 year career as a wrestler and official. Joe attended Canonsburg High School from 1947-1951 and during that time was a 3 time WPIAL Champion and 1 PIAA State Champion and 1 PIAA State runner-up. As a result of his excellent academic work at Canonsburg High School and his obvious wrestling prowess, Joe accepted a Wrestling Scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh which he attended from 1951-1955. While at Pitt, Joe was the MVP of the Wrestling team during his Freshman & Sophomore years and team Captain during his senior year.
Throughout his legendary wrestling career, Joe has been recognized as a champion by the following organizations:
4 I Champion, Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Champion, Wilkes College Tournament Champion, AAU Champion
And last but not least, Joe was the 167lb NCAA Champion in 1954.
After college, Joe served his country by joining the Navy. While there, he was the United States Navy All Navy Champion and as Coach for the Great Lakes Naval Station Wrestling Team, Joe won the team title in 1956. Also in 1956, Joe received an invitation to become a member of the United States Olympic Wrestling Team.
After an honorable discharge from the Navy, Joe spent over 30 years at Blue Cross of Western Pennsylvania (Highmark) as Senior Vice President of Sales. In his free time and while working for Blue Cross, Joe officiated well over 900 wrestling matches for 30 years at all levels including 15 PIAA state championships, 10 PSAC & EIWA Championships and 5 NCAA Championships.
Joe was recognized by numerous Halls of Fame, including:
The Washington/Green County Hall of Fame The Southwestern Pennsylvania Wrestling Hall of Fame The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Officials Hall of Fame The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association Hall of Fame The Pitt Golden Panthers Hall of Fame National Wrestling Officials Hall of Fame Canonsburg High School Hall of Honor The Pennsylvania State Wrestling Hall of Fame
The WPIAL Hall of Fame National Wrestling Hall of Fame
Joe lived his life with a purpose focused on family first. Despite all of his accomplishments, Joe was a humble and loving husband, father and grandfather and will be missed terribly by his loving family. Joe will be buried in the National Cemetery of the Alleghenies, Bridgeville, PA, with full military honors on Tuesday at 2:00pm.