WILMINGTON — Today, Monday, Sept. 30, 2019, at 5:30 a.m., my brother, Joseph Michael ‘Joe’ Turano, 77, ended his 10-year fight with cancer. There are no winners or losers in this fight. Only spectators who must sit on the sidelines and watch, knowing what the result will be.
Joe and I may have been polar opposites in many ways, but we were still brothers, and loved each other just the same. He has now gone to live with our mother and father.
I would like to recognize his daughters, Jodi and Lauren; and sons-in-law, Mike and Brad; and all his friends and family who kept in touch with Joe and myself through this ordeal. I would also like to say thank you to those who took the time to see him. His longtime friend, Gail, who came down from Kentucky; my son, Matthew Turano, who drove for 12 hours to stay overnight to see his uncle, and then drove another 12 hours back to New York. My son, Marc, and his wife and our adopted daughter, Renee; and our two granddaughters, who would come to visit. Our grandchildren from New York, who also called with their thoughts and prayers. But most of all, my wife, Mary Ann, who loved Joe like her own brother. She is the one who has kept me sane through this process. I must also mention all my friends who lent their moral support and prayers.
Marc and I will be taking Joe for one last fishing trip on my boat to scatter his ashes on the sea. We will go to one of my favorite areas and rename the spot “Uncle Joe”; probably not what he would have preferred. I think he would have rather a golf course, but I have never stepped foot on one, so I would not know what to do. Or maybe Wall Street, but there, I would probably be arrested for littering. So, he will take one last trip on the “Game Changer.”
But, he will not be forgotten; Mary Ann and I have decided to have his name and “Beloved Brother” added to the bench that marks our burial site. At Oleander Memorial Gardens here in Wilmington. In that way, there will always be a remembrance of my brother Joe.
Rest in peace, Joe. Your suffering has ended. I love you my brother. – Barry
A memorial Mass will be held at 9 a.m., Friday, Oct. 4, at Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, 6650 Carolina Beach Road, Wilmington.
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