Joseph G. Sakey, 79, activist, entrepreneur

Joseph G. Sakey of Lexington, a civic and community activist and entrepreneur, died after a brief illness Nov. 22 at Brigham and Women's Hospital. He was 79.

Mr. Sakey was born and raised in Boston and graduated from Boston Latin School in 1943.

Serving in the Army from 1943 through 1946, Mr. Sakey was involved in military combat throughout Germany, France, and the Netherlands.

After returning to the United States, Mr. Sakey earned a bachelor's degree in modern languages from Northeastern University in 1949 and a master's in library science from Simmons College in 1950.

In 1952, Mr. Sakey married Shirley Enman. They spent the following year in Trivandrum, India, where Mr. Sakey served as director of the United States Information Library for the State Department.

After returning to the United States, Mr. Sakey served as assistant library director for Framingham and later became director of the public libraries in Nashua, where he led the construction of a state-of-the-art library facility.

He also served as president of the New England Library Association.

Mr. Sakey was one of the founding members of the Nashua Symphony Orchestra and the Arts & Sciences Center in Nashua.

''He felt the library should be a place where you could go and go," said Mr. Sakey's son Robert, of Northampton. ''He thought the library was the soul of the community."

In 1971, Mr. Sakey became director of the Cambridge public libraries. In that position, he offered services not traditionally recognized as part of the library, including the founding of an adult literacy program, a lecture and music series, and after-school educational programming for school-age children.

''His biggest interests were his family and the community," said his wife. ''He loved to read."

Mr. Sakey's passion for the ethnic diversity of Cambridge and its neighborhoods led him to establish the Heritage Center at Cambridge Public Library.

''My father, along with other library staff, organized lectures about ethnicity in various neighborhoods of Cambridge," Robert said.

''He wanted groups such as the Portuguese and Italians to feel like there was a place for them to go."

In the 1970s, Mr. Sakey owned a gift shop, Portocall, in Nashua, and later owned Cain's Seafood restaurant in Lexington.

In the 1990s, Mr. Sakey and several others decided that local airwaves needed a liberal voice, and founded Merrimack Valley Broadcasting WVOM, an AM radio station based in Nashua.

Mr. Sakey served on the boards of the Cambridge Mental Health Association, the Cambridge Arts Council, the Rainbow Education Center, Cambridge Historical Commission, the Cambridge Center for Adult Education, Mt. Auburn Hospital, The Guidance Center, and the Bank of New Hampshire.

Besides his wife and son, he leaves another son, Jonathan, of Bedford; a daughter, Jill Karanian of Bedford; two sisters, Mary Moree of Cambridge and Gloria Christo of San Diego; and eight grandchildren.

He was predeceased by a daughter, Joanne, who died in 2003.

A memorial service will be held Dec. 20 in the Story Chapel at Mt. Auburn Cemetery. Burial was private.