Joanne E. Turecek died peacefully on Aug. 3 at Gaylord Hospital after a long series of illnesses. She was born on Feb. 3, 1943, to Dr. John and Jennie Noll. She is survived by her loving husband of 57 years, Donald Turecek; sons, Peter (Michiko), Michael (Traci), Douglas (Maryann), and Dr. Geoff (Stacey); and ten grandchildren, Bridget, Daniel, Kerry, Joseph, Veronica, Nathaniel, Sonia, Agatha, Isaac and Lucy; in addition to her sister Janet Pearson. She was predeceased by her brother John.

She started her education at Gateway in New Haven and then on to Bradley University, a year abroad at the University of Strasbourg, and then Southern Connecticut. She then taught German and French in the Durham school system.

On July 8, 1967, she married Don, who had been introduced to her as “your future husband” by the late Frances Geokler Morneau, a childhood girlfriend and neighbor.

She developed the travel bug early. After her year abroad studying in France, she visited friends in Peru on a whim and spent the summer of 1966 taking an intensive French language course at the University of Fairbanks. (The same program had been offered at Yale, only two miles from her home!)

She left her Durham teaching position before the birth of her first son but never left teaching. She had taught swimming as a teenager, so after her second son could walk well enough, she spent a summer as the director of Camp An-Se-Ox, with her boys on the job site with her. She then started her career as a “stay-at-home mom,” using her spare time to teach Pre Cana marriage preparation courses for the Diocese of Hartford, as well as teaching, along with Don, the Natural Family Planning courses of NFP of CT.

Her next spare time project was to help Don build the home extension needed to house the additional boys they wanted. After those two were born, she was active in the pro-life movement, volunteered at SARAH’s Cupboard, was a Little League scorekeeper, studied Turkish cooking, learned rug hooking, and took classes in theology, philosophy, and bioethics at Holy Apostles College.

At Holy Apostles, she took pity on the seminarians who subsisted on dorm cooking and invited small groups over for home-cooked meals. Holiday meals always seemed to include a few more students or priests from around the world.

While not being a demonstrative person, she loved her sons with all her heart. She encouraged all their interests, even if it extended to flying, skydiving, blacksmithing, motorcycling, and even allowing the golden retriever to birth and nurse her four pups in their bedroom.

She was a frugal shopper, shopping at only the best thrift stores to clothe the family and carefully using coupons for food shopping. The money saved was to pay for education, donations, and her travel itch.

The family tent camped with the boys most summers, all the way from Prince Edward Island to the Florida Keys and out to Arizona—their trusty 10x12’ canvas tent sheltering them from sandstorms, rainstorms, and hurricanes.

She became a certified aquatics exercise instructor and spent four years teaching at various pools in the greater New Haven area.

She also took a great interest in the Traditional Latin Mass, and was a founding member of the St. Gregory Society. When the TLM moved to St. Stanislaus Parish, she and Don became members of the Parish and Joanne was soon elected to chair the Parish Council. Unfortunately, the TLM was recently shut down in that parish.

After Don’s final retirement, she enjoyed salmon fishing (near the bears) during a two-month tent camping trip to Alaska and the Yukon. She used a transformer and a marine battery to power her CPAP during the trip. They followed this up with another trip to Newfoundland and Labrador.

She and her sister Janet scoured the internet for bargain cruises, and in spite of the need for walkers and wheelchairs at some times, the trips were a real treat and included destinations including Europe, Russia, and the Panama Canal.

Finally, needing to be on a high oxygen supply, her travel consisted of going to the Traditional Latin Mass and doctor’s visits, and lately, many hospital stays.

The family would like to thank Dr. David Eilbott for his years of good care and the entire staff of Gaylord Hospital, especially the amazing nursing staff on Milne 2, who treated us like family.

Hawley Lincoln is handling the funeral arrangements. There will be no calling hours per Joanne’s specific instructions, but a Traditional Solemn High Funeral Mass was held on Aug. 9 at Sts. Cyril & Methodius Church, 79 Church Street, in Bridgeport. Interment followed at Beaverdale Memorial Park, 90 Pine Rock Avenue, New Haven.