Joseph Thomas Scotti

Born – September 22, 1934

Deceased – March 31, 2026

Joe was born in Brooklyn, New York to Rose and Pasquale Scotti. He was the youngest of five children. Joe is survived by his wife Cheryl Scotti (nee Boller), son Thomas Scotti (Diane), daughter Joni Diaz (Luis), and brother-in-law Larry Boller (Judy). His grandchildren Keith Scotti, Eva Mezyk (Richard), Amanda Wroblewski (Robert), Nicholas Scotti (Lindsey) and great grandchildren; Mia, Mack, August, Gabriel, Mason, Mary and Sophie Jo.

Joe was raised in Jamaica, Queens, New York and lived there until he joined the Air Force in 1951. While on active duty he served in the Korean War and was awarded many medals for his time there. After Joe got off of active duty, he moved to the Chicago area and continued his military career by serving in the Air National Guard at the Air Reserve Base at O’Hare. Joe loved to travel and with the Air National Guard he had plenty of opportunity to do just that.

Although he enjoyed most all of the countries he went to, Japan, Germany and Spain were among his favorites. Joe spent a total of 30 years serving his country and was extremely proud to do it. While serving in the Air National Guard, he was simultaneously working as the civilian Fuels Supervisor on base. He was in charge of a newly built, state-of-the-art Fuel Farm, which at the time was the only one of its kind. Joe had assembled a phenomenal team to work with and together they won the API Award for Excellence, seven times! Joe retired after 30 years of civilian service in 1988 when he and Cheryl moved to Florida.

Joe was always passionate about sports, whether he was participating in them or watching. He even coached his son’s Little League Baseball team for all of the many years that Tom played. He was also a diehard Chicago Cubs fan and was overjoyed when the Cubs won the 2016 World Series. Additionally, he enjoyed bowling and for many years bowled on a team made up of his friends from the base. They bowled in many tournaments together which took them to many exciting places and always had the best time whether they won or lost. He liked to golf too, especially after arriving in Florida, however softball won out. He was in three different local leagues and several traveling leagues as well. He remarked to Cheryl that he was having the “time of his life”. Most recently though, Joe was walking two miles a day before he became ill. On some days he walked with a group of friends at one of the local parks, and on other days he walked by himself but always made sure to get out and do it. He was always very committed to everything that he did.

As much as Joe likes Florida, he and Cheryl traveled back to Illinois every year for the first ten years after moving to spend summers with their grandchildren. He loved his family, especially his grandchildren and didn’t want to miss them growing up. A more recent enjoyment for Joe was the opportunity to take part in a Veterans Honor Flight. A Veterans Honor Flight is free one day trip for veterans to Washington, D.C. to visit the memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice, provided by the Honor Flight Network. Primarily serving WWII, Korean and Vietnam War veterans. These trips offer veterans a chance to be honored and share experiences with peers. He was so impressed by all that he saw and with the people who helped him throughout the day.

Joe fell ill in September 2025 and fought hard to get better, unfortunately he lost his battle in March. He was a wonderful man and will be missed very much.

A Gathering of Family and Friends will be held at Turner Funeral Homes, Crematory and Cemetery, 14360 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill, FL 34609, US, on April 15, 2026, from 11:00 am to 12:00 pm.

A Celebration of Life will be held at Turner Funeral Homes, Crematory and Cemetery, 14360 Spring Hill Drive, Spring Hill, FL 34609, US, on April 15, 2026, from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm.

Graveside Committal Services with Military Honors will be held at Florida National Cemetery, 6502 SW 102nd Ave, Bushnell, FL 33513, US, on April 15, 2026, from 2:00 pm to 2:20 pm.