01 Joe and Jan Before the Wedding

Joseph Nigro Basile and Janet Mary Smith had a long history together before that fateful day when Jan walked down the aisle. Jan’s mother Norah had been working as a maid for the Basile’s before either of the two was born. So naturally, Joe and Jan formed a relationship at a very young age through their parents. Their relationship began to grow as Jan would help her mother at the Basile’s home at North Main St. and Kent St. in Albany, New York.

Not coming from as much money and with her husband’s early passing, Norah needed to be the bread winner for the Smith family. Keeping house for the Basile's was a good way for her to make a living and provide for her children. Jan would help her mother work at the Basile's at a young age to make it easier on her mother. Her presence at the Basile's home naturally strengthened her relationship with each family member, Joe included. Despite his obvious lack of intimate feeling for Jan during his adolescents, they would have their first date when he returned from the Pacific.

Joe and Jan’s first date was at a dinner theater on Central Ave., in Albany. Dinner theaters were a popular social location where a couple could have dinner and then be entertained by a play, comedian or other stage shows. At the time, Jan was seventeen and attending Vincentian Institute and Joe was twenty-five and had recently returned home from World War II. Joe had previously left Christian Brothers Academy, in Albany, to join the armed forces at the age of seventeen. Joe was a sailor in the Navy and had served for three years in the Pacific.