Leo Turcotte, 85, of Vero Beach, FL died Saturday, December 13, 2008 at his home.
He was born in St. Guillaume Province of Quebec, Canada on July 6, 1923 and lived in Bristol, CT until he retired from the Connecticut State Police Department as Sergeant, in October of 1971 where he headed the Division of Humanistic Studies. He attended Hillyer College from which he earned a degree in Business Administration.
Mr. Turcotte enrolled in the U.S. Navy reserves at the age of 19, illegally, as he was still a citizen of Canada. He served in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters for 39 months. He was a crew member of the destroyer, Henry A. Wiley, which was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for exceptional success in destroying Kami-Kaze suicide bombers in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa invasions. He was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1946 and received his citizenship papers at that time. Upon retirement he and his family moved to Cape Cod, MA where Leo was associated with Nickerson Lumber Company.
He leaves his wife M. Frances of 56 years, and four children Christopher Turcotte, Martha Lee Handel, Francine Penney and David Turcotte all of Cape Cod and a sister Noella Kendall and brother Richard Turcotte of Bristol, CT; seven grandchildren, one great-grand son and several nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be private.