Giuseppe Palombo

March 2, 1957 – February 15, 2025

Giuseppe Gabriele (Joe) Palombo, age 67 and beloved husband of Susan (Strunk) Palombo, died of a heart attack suddenly but peacefully at the place he loved the most…his cabin in the woods in Mio, Michigan. He looked and felt great and was having a beautiful week up north with his friends while Sue was at home in Warren. Joe had just spent time in the Upper Peninsula and was enjoying the day at his cabin with Canadian friends and outdoor lovers the Gordon Family. Susan is grateful to the Gordons, neighbor Kit Gusler, and other friends who were by Joe’s side immediately upon his passing on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

Joe loved being surrounded by people and nature. Anyone who met him became a lifelong friend. He was born on March 2, 1957, in Sora, Italy; a small town in the province of Frosinone closest to the major city of Rome. His Uncle Dominic came to America in 1920 and worked at Ford Motor Company before applying to bring other family members over.

Joe’s late father came to the USA first with Joe’s brother Frank to secure a home. Then Joe and his mother, sister Teresa, and brother Tony came on the ship that crossed the ocean to land at Ellis Island. They were amazed at this large passenger cruise ship and fascinated by the food and entire experience. Joe would tell us how the ship’s captain was enamored with the family (and Joe’s Mom) and gave them all special privileges, even dining at the captain’s table.

The eldest sister Lucia remained in Italy with her husband and children while the others began life in the USA, speaking no English. The family resided in Warren, Michigan, and Joe quickly made friends at school. He was around twelve years old and those friends still surround him today. With Uncle Dominic and father Bernardo speaking little English, although he was the youngest, Joe quickly became the family patriarch.

Joe was the beloved husband of Sue for 37 years. He shared with everyone up north that week how he missed her and could not wait to return home and take her out for Valentine’s Day. His birthday was also coming up on March 2nd. Sue and Joe met at the ages of 15 and 12 years old, respectively, and have been together since. For years, Sue and Joe traveled back and forth to Italy to visit family.

Joe was brother to Lucia (Raffaele) Baldassarra and the late Francesco (Maria) Palombo from Italy, as well as the late Theresa (Antonio) Gentile from Sterling Heights and Antonio (Debbie) Palombo from Chesterfield, Michigan.

Joe was brother-in-law of the late Cynthia Strunk, and Sue’s other siblings Lynn Manion, David Strunk, Nancy Strunk, and Karen (Charles) Sutton. He is survived by so many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, friends and neighbors, and everyone who met him. Each day we learn of more lives he has touched and how profoundly.

One could almost say Joe was survived by his many “pets and forest friends” up north: the 15 deer who visited daily, turkeys, raccoons, rabbits, beavers in the pond on their property, squirrels and birds. Joe always made sure the animals had food year round. We all had a special fondest for one deer who was affectionately named “Boots” for the white markings on his hooves; Boots gave us all many laughs this past hunting season (inside joke).

Joe and Sue did not have children but he was surrounded by children all the time, sitting at his feet, on his lap, wrapped in his arms, or teaching them to swim in their backyard pool. He was “Uncle Joe” to everyone and mentored the young ones through their adulthood. His passion for life made you think he would be with us forever. It is hard to lose the one person we all knew we could depend on.

He was deeply devoted to others as a brother, father-figure and uncle. He was a loving caregiver to his wife who is a two-time cancer survivor over the past four years. Throughout her extensive hospitals stays, the medical staff were amazed how Joe never left her side. He made and brought a fresh meal to Sue every day and, in the doctor’s words, “doted on her”.

Joe was one of the most knowledgeable, well-informed people we knew, which was remarkable given he still used a flip phone and never accessed a computer (or as his Uncle Dominic would say, “a confuser”). But Joe was on top of every current and world event, knew how the entire body functioned when someone was ill, and could delve deep into any discussion. This led to long talks at the kitchen table where we congregated.

He was a true storyteller and had so many that he never had to tell the same story twice, although we loved to hear them over again and laugh. Joe was a simple man in the sense that he knew what the best things in life were and that was all he needed to have: family, friends, food and nature.

Joe enjoyed hunting, snowmobiling, canoeing, and morel mushroom picking. He and all the men in his family have been great cooks. It was fortunate to have dinner at his house when Joe made his pasta with morel mushroom sauce. Joe also tended an abundant flower and vegetable garden in his yard. When preparing meals, Joe would first step outside to pick fresh parsley, lettuce, or whatever was needed. He could make an entire pot of fresh soup without ever going to the market, and many items were jarred, canned or fresh picked and frozen by the family.

Joe loved being with his extended family and friends and hosted numerous gatherings. Whether Thanksgiving dinner, backyard pool parties, or hosting the MichCanSka snowmobile club at his cabin (which once snowmobiled from Michigan through Canada to Alaska to raise funds for diabetes), he was happiest when surrounded by others. Joe will be forever remembered and missed.

A visitation will be held on Friday, February 21, from 2pm until 8pm with a sharing of memories service at 7pm, at A.H. Peters Funeral Home, 32000 Schoenherr Road, in Warren. An instate will be held on Saturday, February 22, at 9am until the time of the funeral service at 10am at A.H. Peters Funeral Home.

For those who have asked about contributions, these are two charities he was actively involved with:

Lydia’s Gate

115 Deyarmond Street, Mio, MI 48647

501(C)(3) Non-profit organization formed

www.lydiasgate.org

Joe discovered this women’s homeless shelter in Mio, Michigan, when he passed by one of their bake sales in town and engaged in conversation.

Friends of the Deer Refuge

P.O. Box 581

West Branch, MI 48661

A 501(C)(3) Non-profit organization formed to help raise funds and support the Ogemaw nature Park near the cabin, where Sue and her family visited as children when staying with her Grandmother Helen Dier in St. Helen, Michigan.