Joseph Robert Bambino

Joe was born August 23, 1954 in Mt. Holly, New Jersey, to Elmer Joseph Bambino and Jacqueline Rosengren Bambino. Joe is survived by his son, Jesse, his brothers, Tom Hough and John Bambino, his sisters, Jeannine Bruhn and Jeri Somers, and his Uncle Tom Rosengren. Joe and Jeannine’s parents divorced when he was young, and his mom moved back to Omaha to be with her family and grandparents. Joe was raised in Omaha, where he attended grade school. His mom married Byron Hough and together they had one son, Tom. Soon after Byron’s death, Jacqueline moved to LaVista and Joe attended Papillion High School. His mom then married Frank Susterka and had a daughter, Jeri. After graduation, Joe began working for his brother-in-law Mark Bruhn at his house framing construction company. When Mark retired, Joe began his own framing company. Joe’s son Jesse worked alongside Joe for a few years before deciding to become an electrician. For the last few years, Joe was a superintendent for Thomas Gaines Construction. Joe married Vikki in 1974 and together they had their son, Jesse. They were married for over 10 years and have remained good friends ever since. Vikki now cares for Joe’s cats, Cali and Rocky, (whom Joe loved more than anything), in Louisville. Jesse and his wife, Becky, live in Louisville as well. Joe remarried in May of 2001 to Laura Kling, they were married for 10 years as well. They were married in Las Vegas surrounded by their closest friends. They enjoyed traveling, live music, and watching the Denver Broncos, Joe’s favorite team. Joe loved live music, especially the Rolling Stones, playing darts, riding his Heritage SoftTail Harley, and singing karaoke in local bars where he could be heard belting out songs from The Doors. He traveled the country to see the Stones eight times, once having front row seats which is one of his fondest memories. One of Joe’s other hobbies included working on older cars, in particular his ’67 Chevelle and ’54 Chevy which was his pride and joy. Joe rebuilt the ’54 from bumper to bumper, painted it black and purple with Ghost flames with one of his oldest friends, Rick, turning it into what he called a “Hot Rod”. Joe would be glad knowing that his “Hot Rod” will be staying in the family with his son Jessie. Joe has many good friends, the oldest being Rick and Ruby. They have known Joe for over 40 years. Kelley, their daughter, and husband Jim, and Joe’s friends Chris and Nicole helped organize Joe’s benefit 5 years ago. Cindy cared for Joe’s cats every day during his many hospital stays. JoAnne, who owns Sociable Inn, cared for Joe too. They all brought him anything he needed, drove him to appointments, took him home from hospital stays, ordered Koozies to help pay his expenses. All of his friends helped make his last weeks easier for him. He loved his friends and family, drinking a few beers while playing Keno at a few of his favorite Millard hangouts. He affectionately called it “going to Church”, as he typically did this on either a Saturday or Sunday morning. We all love you Joe and we all will miss you forever. Memorial service will be held Friday, January 11th, 1:30 pm, at Braman Mortuary (Southwest Chapel.) Gathering of Family and Friends will be from 4-6 pm, at The Sociable Inn, 4917 S. 136th Street Omaha, NE 68137. In lieu of flowers, memorials given to the family will be used in Joe's memory at a later date.