Undated, unidentified clipping in a scrapbook at the Saranac Lake Veteran's Club.
Undated, unidentified clipping in a scrapbook at the Saranac Lake Veteran's Club.Born: January 18, 1920
Died: December 30, 1975
Married: Beatrice LaPlante
Children: Mrs. William (Jo Anne) Balzar of Rochester, Mrs. Ronald (Deborah) Clinch of Auburn, and Mrs. George (Jean) Nesbitt of Saranac Lake
Joesph Drutz was a World War II veteran. He was the associate publisher of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise. He lived at 25 Virginia Street.
Lake Placid News, January 8, 1976
JOSEPH DRUTZ
Joseph Drutz 55, associate publisher of the Adirondack Daily Enterprise and a Saranac Lake civic leader, died unexpectedly Tuesday night, Dec. 30. He suffered a heart attack while playing basketball in a benefit game for the Saranac Lake Arena Fund.
Funeral services were held Friday in St. Bernard's Church in Saranac Lake. Rabbi Selig S. Auerbach conducted the service and Catholic priests contributed.
Mr. Drutz was born in New York City, the son of Hyman and Annie Ginsberg Drutz. He came to Saranac Lake as a child when his father was cured for tuberculosis there.
He was graduated from Saranac Lake High School in 1937 and attended the University of Wisconsin before joining the Army Air Force in World War II.
He married Beatrice LaPlante, also of Saranac Lake, on April 27, 1944. She survives him.
In 1944 he was sent overseas with the 15th Army Air Force in Italy. He was wounded during a bombing mission and spent the rest of the war in a prison camp at Barth, Germany.
After the war, Mr. Drutz joined his family's grocery business in Saranac Lake. The store closed in 1966 and Mr. Drutz became warehousing manager of the American Management Association. He left the Association in 1972 to become advertising manager of The Adirondack Enterprise. He was named associate publisher in January 1975.
Active in community life, he was a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Saranac Lake General Hospital Board, the American Legion, the Christian Family Movement and the St. Pius X High School Parent Educators who named him Father of the Year in 1975.
He had served as president of the Rotary Club, the Community Council, the Chamber of Commerce and the Bridge Club. He also was Franklin County Democratic Chairman and exalted ruler of the Elks.
A combined Veterans of Foreign Wars and American Legion services were held for Mr. Drutz Thursday evening, followed by an Elks service.
In addition to his wife, Mr. Drutz is survived by three daughters, Mrs. William (Jo Anne) Balzar of Rochester, Mrs. Ronald (Deborah) Clinch of Auburn, and Mrs. George (Jean) Nesbitt of Saranac Lake; six grandchildren; a sister, Mrs. Sam Redmond of Regal Park, and his brother, Sol of Forest Hills.
