Obituary - Joe Trucano

Thursday, March 22, 2001
THE JUNEAU EMPIRE

Longtime Juneau resident and builder Joe Trucano died March 15, 2001, at Bartlett Regional Hospital.

He was born Jan. 2, 1915, on a farm in Tower, Minn., one of 12 children. He served in the Army at Fort Chilkoot in Haines in the late 1930s. He stayed in Alaska after his discharge and moved to Juneau, where he spent the rest of his life.

He met Alma Werner from South Dakota in Juneau and they were married in 1939. They built a log home together in 1938 which still stands near the Auke Bay Fire Station. As their family grew, Trucano built a home in the Highlands and they moved there in 1953.

A carpenter by trade, he got his start working to build the subport on the Juneau waterfront in the early 1940s. He later worked for Abel, Triplette and Dalziel. In 1954 he formed Triplette and Trucano, and the partners ran a retail lumber and building supply store where the State Office Building now stands. They also built a number of private homes, businesses and buildings in the Juneau area, including Gastineau Elementary School, the Breakwater Inn and Glacier Valley Elementary School. In 1965 he and his wife formed Trucano Construction.

He enjoyed hunting and the outdoors. He and his sons built a cabin at Gambier Bay, and he treasured the time he spent there with his family.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Alma, his daughter Carolyn (and Alan) Gould, his son Doug Trucano (and Carol Ackerson), son Jim (and Nadine) Trucano and their children Jeff, Jenny, Tanya and Holly, and granddaughter Cynthia (and Tom) Kreibel, all of Juneau; granddaughter Charolyn (and John) Concepcion and great-grandson Matthew of Oregon, sister Angela Larson and brothers Larry, Albert and John Trucano all of Minnesota, and numerous nieces and nephews.

Service will be 1 p.m. Monday at the Holy Trinity Church. A reception will be held immediately afterward in McPhetres Hall and a reception will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. at Mike's Place in Douglas.

Honorary pallbearers are Ben Haffner, Boyd Cody, Joe Ivans, Doug Gregg, Tim Whiting and Harvey Hildre.

In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 325 Gold St., Juneau, 99801, or to the Alzheimer's Association, 3200 Hospital Dr., Suite 203, Juneau, 99801.