From the Ashtabula Star Beacon July 26, 2012 As a young man, Joseph Mallone Sr. had dreams and plans, ambitions and prospects. But all those wants had one special condition — he had to live in Geneva. A teacher, coach, husband, father, mayor and judge in both Western County and Ashtabula County Common Pleas courts, Mallone, who was born on his parents’ kitchen table in Geneva in 1915, died Wednesday after a short illness. He was 97. Father to Joseph Mallone Jr., Nancy Stevens and Cathy Ernes, Mallone enjoyed his eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He is survived by one brother. Daughter Nancy Stevens said Mallone’s life was shaped around his family and his hometown, his experiences with poverty and education molding him into a man dedicated to community service. Mallone’s mother, an Italian immigrant, was illiterate; twice widowed and with six boys to rear, she struggled to support her family. “My dad was oldest, so he was kind of the father because he took care of his five brothers,” Stevens said.