Joseph Lamanuzzi Jr.

Joseph Lamanuzzi, Jr., died August 7, 2011, after battling bone marrow disease eight years. He was 81.

Joe was born in Fresno, California, January 31, 1930, the son of Joe and Elizabeth (nee Parisi) Lamanuzzi. His mother died when Joe was nine and he moved to his grandpa and grandma Frank and Lucrezia (nee Lamanuzzi) Parisi's farm outside Fresno. There he grew up with his younger brother, Frank, and his Parisi cousins, Lucy, Jim, Margaret, Dorothy, and Joe “Big Joe”. Joe and cousins treated each other as brothers and sisters throughout their lives, not just because of the special experience of growing up together on the farm, but also because of the close family relationship.

At the age of 13, Joe and his brother Frank moved back to town with their father. It was during these early teenage years that Joe learned responsibility and the value of hard work by joining his father in the fruit fields doing the labor of a grown man. At the same time, he was also helping with the cooking, laundry, and grocery shopping. After WWII, Joe's father remarried and three more brothers were born: Mike, Victor, and Dan. Joe loved his younger brothers immensely and acted as a second father to them on many occasions.

Joe lived his whole life in Fresno except during service in the Air Force as a B-36 bomber mechanic stationed at Travis Air Force Base during the early 1950's. He worked 36 years as a truck driver for Pacific Intermountain Express, receiving a number of safe driving awards before retiring in 1990.

Joe married the love of his life, M. June Goff, in 1952, after having met dancing at Fresno’s Rainbow Ballroom. Together with their two children, Joseph Arthur and Linda Faye, Joe's family enjoyed many fun-filled trips to the California coast with his younger brothers and other family such as Moe and Liz Bombini's and Angelo and Dorothy Sasso's. Joe and June also continued to enjoy dancing and were longtime members of the Italo-American Club.

Joe had many skills. An early project was the complete restoration of his beloved 1934 Ford pickup truck. He was an excellent winemaker and cook and fixer-upper. In his later years, he especially enjoyed his woodworking projects including birdhouses, model lighthouses, wood calligraphy, and almost anything else he could imagine or was asked to do.

He had a loving and caring spirit, an easy laugh, a mischievous smile, and gusto for life. He made friends easily, and his list of life-long buddies includes P.I.E. coworkers and pals he made during his visits to Morro Bay and Cayucos to fish and share time with June. Joe was dedicated to June and gave her his caring touch every day during the years of her lengthy illness. He was a sweet man.

Joe was preceded in death by his wife June; his brother Mike; his cherished Parisi cousins, Dorothy Sasso and Joe; and his dear Bombini cousins, Rose Parisi, Lucy DeBenetto, Rita Montevecchi, Lucrezia Policarpo, and Mauro “Moe”.

Joe is survived by his children, Joe and Linda; his brothers, Frank and his wife Barbara, Victor and his wife Anita, and Dan; his Parisi cousins, Lucy, Jim, and Margaret; his cousin, Josephine Bombini; and numerous other cousins, nephews and nieces.

The family gives thanks to Dr. S. P. Dhillon and Dr. L. Thomas Hackett for the care they provided Joe during the years of his illness, and to Hinds Hospice for easing Joe’s passing.

Visitation will be held at Whitehurst, Sullivan, Burns & Blair Funeral Home on Wednesday, August 10, 2011 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

A Graveside Service will be held at Fresno Memorial Gardens, on Thursday, August 11, 2011 at 10:00 a.m.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Hinds Hospice, 1616 W. Shaw Ave, Suite C-1, Fresno, Ca. 93711; or to the charity of your choice.