Living Biography (Please send additions and corrections.)

Joseph Frank Carrozzo and his identical twin brother, Charles, were born on the Carrozzo family farm on August 19, 1923 to Italian parents in Trinidad, Colorado. Joe was a veteran of WWII and the Korean War. By all accounts, Joe was the best looking of the Carrozzo children. He was also a sharp dresser in his younger days.

Joe and his twin brother, Charlie, were fifth and sixth born in a family of nine children (four boys and five girls). Charlie died in a car accident at the age of six when he and Joe were walking to school together. Joe witnessed this tragedy and grieved for many years over the loss of his brother and best friend.

In 1923, at the age of 20, knowing nothing but farming, Joe ventured to California. He lived in San Francisco for a few years working for the cable car company. He often spoke fondly of his time in San Francisco.

Joe moved to San Diego in 1943.  He returned to San Diego after his

 service in the Korean War he moved to San Diego and never left. He became a plumber. He married Clarice in 1954. They built and sold several houses in the Del Mar and Solana Beach area. In 1966, Joe and Clarice built the house that he passed away in. It's on Nardo in Solana Beach. Joe said they had planned to live in it for two or three years and then build another. However, their daughter Julie did not want to move away from her school and best friend Renée who lived across the street.

Joe loved his job at Arthur Brown Plumbing where he worked for over 35 years until he retired. He looked forward to going to work every day. He and some of his co-workers used to meet at a donut shop in Carlsbad every morning.

Joe retired from plumbing much sooner than he wanted to. In 1991, Joe's wife, Clarice, was diagnosed with terminal cancer. She died eight months later.

Joe was devastated, sad, and lonely for several years until he met Sandy. They married in Sept. 1997. He had found happiness once again until June of 2006 when Sandy was taken from him due to the same type of cancer that Clarice died from.

Joe had a great sense of dry humor and wit about him and his mind remained sharp to the end. He enjoyed crossword puzzles and worked them daily. Joe loved golf. He was member number six at the Lomas Santa Fe Country Club where he played for many years.

Joe loved his family (all 50 or so of them) but especially his daughter Julie, his son-in-law Ron and grandkids Zach and Katie. He also really loved children and they were always drawn to him because he knew just how to win them over from babies on up.

In December of 2006 Joe died in San Diego (Solana Beach) where he had lived for the last 47 years.

Joe was the oldest of the family when he died. Joe was loved, honored, and greatly respected by the entire family and by his friends and past co-workers. The large, extended Carrozzo family looked on Joe as its patriarch and uncle. And Joe had many adoring nieces and nephews. In fact, many people with no relation to him called him Uncle Joe. He was an ideal uncle, so we are calling this memorial "Uncle Joe."

Joe was a man of high integrity, sensitivity, and strong principles. Anyone who met him automatically loved and respected him. He just had a special aura about him.

Joe died peacefully in his sleep at home on December 26, 2006 at the age of 83. He is survived by his daughter; Julie Brown; and her husband, Ron; his step-daughter, Jackie Czegeny; his stepson Brian Flanagan; his four grandchildren, Zachary Blakee, Katie Brown, Christy Foley, Zoltan Czegeny; his three great grandchildren, Christopher, Aaron, and Christian; his brother, Al Carrozzo; his sisters, Rose Marie Halloway and Irene Christian; and his many nieces and nephews.

Some recollections from Irene, Joe's sister

Spoken at Joe's memorial service:

I have such fond memories of my brother since I was a little girl. I still have letters he wrote to me when he was serving in Korea. He would write & tease me about boyfriends.

One significant memory was when my mother and I went to visit Clarice and Joe’s new baby girl, Julie for the first time. She was beautiful and I was overwhelmed when Clarice asked me if I wanted to hold her. Joe was just beaming and it was obvious he already thought the sun rose and set on her.

I feel so blessed to have lived next to him for several years. Joe and I had many memorable talks and visits together. When Sandy came the three of us shared some great times. One of those was an afternoon last January. The three of us went to Anthony’s at the Harbor for Sandy’s birthday (which just happens to be today) it was their favorite place to go for lunch and I was honored to be invited to join them on that special day. I was frequently invited to join them here at the Club on Fridays for the buffet or Wednesdays for prime rib. Joe used to get such a kick out of how much tiny little Sandy could eat at those buffets. She always had room for 2-3 desserts no matter what.

Joe loved to tease Sandy about anything. (She was an easy target and such a good sport.) They were so cute together. He taught her to play Snooker and Briscola (an Italian card game). They always had a bet on either game. It was usually a dollar and sometimes even breakfast or lunch. Joe was impressed on how competent she was at both.

Mimi and Rocco will always remember their Uncle Joe. He derived such pleasure from them since they were babies. He always came over to enjoy them when they were with me. Mimi and Rocco spent a lot of time in the garage with Uncle Joe cracking macadamia nuts. Rocco and Uncle Joe enjoyed building things together. One of their first projects was a tiny bunk bed which Rocco designed for his stuffed bear Patrick. It even has a tiny ladder. Rocco was in awe of all the tools Uncle Joe had. He said his daddy goes to work, but Uncle Joe was a REAL WORKER man because he could fix or make anything. They both have a very special helicopter that Joe made for them which I’m certain they will treasure more as the years go by.

He loved going with Sandy to visit her little nephew Connor. Joe said he was too beautiful to be a boy and was convinced he was the smartest little guy he knew.

Fortunately, my four children, six grandchildren and great granddaughter were here this past Thanksgiving which we spent at Brad and Kahle’s along with Joe, Julie , Zach, Katie, Ann and Vic(Brad's mom & dad). We had not all been together for a few years. It was a blessing that they all got to see their Uncle Joe.

Joe was my big brother, very special and dear to me, but more than that he was truly the Patriarch of our large family. Joe was so loved and respected by our entire family that he was actually on a pedestal in our eyes.

It’s hard to image our world without him, but he was so sad and lonely since he lost Sandy in June. Each day seemed more and more difficult for him. Therefore, we must all take comfort in knowing our beloved Joe is exactly where he wants to be.