Skip to content
Obituaries

Joseph V. Canal, 81, owned discount liquor stores

Joseph V. Canal, 81, who was known for his South Jersey discount liquor stores, died Monday, March 7, of a heart attack and injuries from a car accident on Route 73 in Marlton. He lived in Cherry Hill and also had a home in Ocean City, N.J.

    by Edward Colimore, Inquirer Staff Writer
    Published 

Joseph V. Canal, 81, who was known for his South Jersey discount liquor stores, died Monday, March 7, of a heart attack and injuries from a car accident on Route 73 in Marlton. He lived in Cherry Hill and also had a home in Ocean City, N.J.

Mr. Canal was the son of Mariano Canalicchio and Concetta Baratta, who moved from Philadelphia to Haddon Heights in the 1930s to open a deli and gas station.

The family later moved to Camden, and Mr. Canal attended grammar and high school there before joining the Army.

He was stationed in Beppu, Japan, after World War II and served with the military police who provided security for Gen. Douglas MacArthur in Tokyo.

After his honorable discharge in 1948, Mr. Canal majored in accounting and economics at Rutgers University. He later opened a real estate office in Haddon Heights and became president of the Camden County Board of Realtors.

After selling his business, he owned and operated the Imperial Travel Agency in downtown Camden, eventually selling that to start a chain of liquor stores. He had stores in Camden and Marlton and franchised several other locations.

Mr. Canal was proud of his Sicilian heritage, enjoyed watching the ocean at his Ocean City home and liked cooking, eating, and spending time with his friend Lou Petrie at the Shore.

Bishop Eustace Prep School named him father of the year in 1981. He was a member of the Sons of Italy's Haddon Heights Chapter and the Polish American Citizens Club, and was a life member of Rotary Club International in Mount Ephraim.

Mr. Canal is survived by his wife of 49 years, Annette; sons Mario and Paul; and six grandchildren.

Viewings will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, March 10, at the Healey Funeral Home, 9 White Horse Pike, Haddon Heights, and after 9 a.m. Friday, March 11, at St. Joseph Church, 1010 Liberty St., Camden, where a Funeral Mass will be said at 10:30. Entombment will be in New St. Mary's Cemetery, Bellmawr.

Memorial donations may be made to the St. Joseph Restoration Fund, 1010 Liberty St., Camden, N.J. 08104, or in grandson Michael Canal's name to the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation, 1751 Second Ave., Suite 103, New York, N.Y. 10128.