JOSEPH “JOE” EDGAR TURPIN

VERGENNES — Joseph “Joe” Edgar Turpin, 89, passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 22, 2023, following a short illness. Joe was born at home in Monkton, Vt., on May 17, 1933, to Edgar Turpin and Ruth Naylor Turpin. He was the fourth of six children and the first boy.

He grew up on farms in Addison County before his family purchased a farm in Shoreham. From a young age, Joe drove trucks. He would accompany his uncle on his grandmother’s milk route, and he would drive the farm truck in the fields while his uncles loaded hay bales. He drove loads of sawdust across frozen Lake Champlain and apples from the local orchards. Joe loved to talk about his younger years and listening to his stories it is a wonder the man lived to 89!

Joe served in the Army between 1954 and 1956. Following in his grandmother’s footsteps he purchased his first milk route in 1958 and his second in 1959. Joe drove milk trucks until his retirement in the early 2000s. Joe and the love of his life and wife of 62 years, Maryann, owned two restaurants over the years, Mary Joe’s Country Kitchen in Ferrisburgh and the Park Restaurant in Vergennes.

This treasured man was known as Dad, Papa, Grandpa, Father, Papa Joe, and Joe. He was a man you could always count on, no matter the time of day or night or if he had worked a 12-hour day. He loved his family and the Lord. He would always say he was happiest when his family was around.

Joe leaves behind his true love and partner in crime, Maryann, and their five daughters and their families: Doris Gallipo (Joe), Lisa Turpin (Mark Robert), Joanne Turpin-Wernhoff (Dale), Liz Warden (Jeff) and Amy Turpin-DeFilippo (Mark); 13 grandchildren, Joseph Michael, Matthew, Jonathan, Sheena, Stephanie, MaryMargaret, Annie, Emily, Cooper Joseph, McKenzie, Jonas, Luigi, and Dominic; six great-grandchildren, Elizabeth, Hunter, Noah, Scarlet, Daniel, and Adler; and several nieces and nephews.

Joe was predeceased by his parents, siblings, and great-granddaughter Hannah.

A wake will be held on Wednesday, April 26, from 5 to 7 p.m., at Brown McClay Funeral Home in Vergennes. A funeral service will be held on Thursday, April 27, at 10:30 a.m., at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Vergennes.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Joe’s memory to St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Vergennes. The address is 85 South Maple St., Vergennes, VT 05491. ◊