Born on August 6,1922 in San Jose to Sicilian immigrants, Joe left all those who loved him on September 30, 2016. In his 94 years of life, Joe was many things to many people – brother to six, father and grandfather to two, and uncle and friend to many. He was a family man, hard working, and loyal. If he liked you, he loved you, and he would do anything for you. Joe could be best described as one of his favorite cookies – a cuccidati – crusty on the outside, and soft, sweet, and gooey on the inside (a cookie which was always served best with a cup of black coffee).  When you visited Joe, day or night, he would invite you to "sit down, grab a cup of coffee, and tell him something good." He loved to hear a good story. And on some days, his mood would change on a dime. In one moment, he would be the loud, over-protective and crazy-making Sicilian father, and in the next moment, he would be joyfully playing a round of Yahtzee, or singing along with the player piano to show tunes, or cracking a witty joke that seemed to come out of nowhere. He was passionate about politics, the cinema, his pets (horses, cats and dogs), growing fruit and working on his ranch, and his El Camino. He had a big heart for those who were less fortunate—he was a compassionate and kind-hearted man who found it impossible to stomach the injustices of the world.

Joe grew up in Campbell on a ranch located on Hacienda Avenue. He was a graduate of Campbell High School, and the time away from his family was spent mostly at work: St. Claire Hotel in San Jose as a bellboy; his family's store, Big Boy Market; Staff Sergeant, Signal Corps, Army Pictorial Service Unit in WWII; and as a projectionist for many Bay Area movie theatres including the Campbell, Stanford, Varsity, Park, Mountain View, Mayfield, Sunnyvale and Carlos theatres among others. He liked to say that he was the man behind the scenes who entertained thousands.

He was President/Vice President of Local 409; worked the lighting at the Cow Palace for the Sonja Henning Ice Show and the Grand National Rodeo; and was part of the Photo Patrol at Bay Meadows and Tanforan racetracks. He loved to ride horses, and was a member of the Mayfair Riders. He worked at Inflight Motion Pictures for many years, and then retired to Gilroy to become a rancher and grow Asian pears and Fuyu persimmons as he felt that land should be used for producing food for others.

Joe is survived by his wife Leona Murdzek; his daughters Gina and Carla; son-in-law Mark Fulks, his granddaughters Hannah and Clara Fulks, and his sisters Angie Lucchesi and Lee Martini.  He was preceded in death by his parents Gaetano Turturici and Mary Ciraulo and his brothers John, Ben, Tommy, and Antone. The family wishes to send their heartfelt gratitude to his caregiver, and friend, Margie Garibaldi, for whom they can never thank enough, as well as the caregivers from Home Instead and those associated with Hospice of the Valley.

A military funeral will be held on October 12. In lieu of flowers, the family has requested that donations be made to Hospice of the Valley at https://sutterhealth.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donate.event&eventID=530 for their outstanding service and support.