Joe (Jose Geraldo) Torres went peacefully to be with his Lord on March 19th 2024. He was the
7th of 10 siblings who lived to adulthood. His parents, Antonieta and Petronilo (Nilo) had a total
of 21 children. They lived in the small country town of Quebrangulo, Alagoas, Brazil in an
apartment above the general store that Nilo ran.
Joe came into the world in a very dramatic way— following a gun battle. His father Nilo had
started selling light bulbs to support his growing family. Unfortunately, the owner of the town’s
electric company found out and decided to eliminate the competition and came after Nilo with a
shotgun. Fortunately, someone had warned Nilo, so when the man entered his store, Nilo
jumped over the counter with his gun. Shots were fired but no one was injured. However, Joe’s
mother, Antonieta, who was 7 months pregnant, was so shocked that she went into labor and
Joe was born on 01/01/1937. Later, Nilo took Joe to the post office to weigh him: 2 kilos (4.4
pounds).
The family later moved to Palmeira dos Índios, a slightly larger village where Joe grew up. After
he finished high school, an American friend of the family offered him a job in the USA. He
snapped it up, moved to Texas and worked in an electrical supply company. Shortly thereafter
he heard from his Uncle Sam.
After serving in the Army in Germany for two years, Joe moved to Indianapolis where he was
employed in the service department of a VW dealer by day and took college courses at night.
There he met a young lady who brought in her new Beetle for servicing. She was so impressed
with the service she decided to marry the Assistant Service Manager.
After Joe finished his degree in Electrical Engineering, the couple moved to New Jersey with
their two daughters. When the girls were of school age, the family moved to Brazil where they
lived for nine years. There Joe introduced computers to his company and managed to save it
millions of dollars a month in electric bills.
Thus, Joe was born after his mother was ‘shocked’ into labor during a battle over electric light
bulbs and grew up to become an electrical engineer. It’s called poetic justice.
The family eventually moved back to the States, where Joe continued to work. They moved to
Wilmington in 1991-92, and he became a U.S. citizen in 2003.
Joe is ‘loaning’ his wife Susan to Wilmington until she qualifies to join him. He leaves his
daughter, Diana Grace Torres, who lives at Cape Fear Group Homes in Wilmington. Their other
daughter, son-in-law and grandson live in Germany. He leaves one brother, Francisco Jose
Torres, who lives in Brazil, two nephews who live in Maryland, Marcus Neumann and family, and
Kennedy Torres and family, as well as scores of nieces and nephews in Brazil.
The funeral Mass will be celebrated April 4th at 2 PM at St Mark Catholic Church in Wilmington
followed by a reception. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to Cape Fear Group Homes,
102 Old Eastwood Road, Wilmington NC, 28403.
Services are in the care of Coastal Cremations, 6 Jacksonville Street, Wilmington, NC 28403.
5 Comments
Joe has been a part of our lives for the past 15 years. In that time he has been such a vibrant part of our family. The greatest confidant, and cheerleader, the most amazing grandfather to our beloved Cadence (Kiki), and the most loving, joyful, and dearest friend. There will not be a single moment of our lives that he will not be missed. I wish we could have more years together but as Kiki told Grandma Susan, “I know you will miss papa Joe, I will miss him too, but he is going to be with Jesus, and there is just no better place than that”. We love you Joe. Thank you for blessing us with your love, light, and laughter.
Omgoodness…. What a sweet sweet man… always greeting you with a smile and a kiss on the cheek. Sure wish I had spent more time getting to know you better… but since you’re loaning Mrs Torres to us.. I’ll try and get caught up. You’re at peace and no pain.. we love you and will miss you Byron and Crystal
Sue, Very sorry to hear of Joe’s’ passing. Thinking of you with heavy hearts. I did not realize the family background with Joe. We have many great memories with both of you and will always cherish. With love Jonathan & Laura
In this moment of deep sadness, I would like to express my most sincere condolences to my beloved and dear aunt Suzan on the pass of uncle Geraldo. For Geraldo and Aunt Suzan, they have always been special people. Despite the physical distances that separated us, Uncle Geraldo’s presence was always remarkable and beloved. I remember as a teenager how much I enjoyed seeing him with his new technological toys. My first experience with a computer was with my uncle Geraldo, who even gave me my first computer and this had an impact on my entire professional life, as I have worked with technology ever since. He will leave a huge gap, not only due to the lack of his conversations and laughter, but also for the affection we always showed each other. That we can find relief in the shared memories and legacy of affection he left us. I’m thinking of you, my aunt Suzan, and I share your pain at this difficult time.
With Love, Jean Paul & Sheyla
É com muita tristeza e com o coração cheio de saudades que me despeço de meu querido tio Geraldo. Que ele esteja em bom lugar a nos olhar com alegria.
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