Joseph Ralph Porcaro

On July 31, 1936, Herman and Irene (Bencriscutto) Porcaro welcomed their son, Joseph Ralph, into the world. Growing up, Joseph was a typical young man of his generation in many ways. He was raised in the family home alongside his siblings, Diane, David, Nita and Dino.

From a young age, Joe was always on the move—athletic, competitive, and bursting with energy. He attended Sacred Heart Catholic School and later St. Catherine’s High School (graduating with the Class of 1954), where academics didn’t exactly hold his attention—but sports certainly did. Joe was an amazing athlete and a valuable player on St. Catherine’s football team. He would often say he was the "fattest and the fastest" player on the team. But football was just the beginning.

Joe’s athletic prowess wasn’t limited to football. He was an excellent softball player, and his home run power became legendary (at least in his family). Joe battled year after year for the Racine home run crown and would often win. Joe often told stories about the homers he hit. Like the time he hit the ball so far that it went beyond the lights to where the umpire couldn’t see the outfielder chasing it. But the outfielder came back into the light holding the ball in his glove, claiming he caught it, and the umpire called Joe out. Joe insisted there was no way he could have caught that ball.

Joe was serving locally as a medic in the National Guard when he was united in marriage to his high school sweetheart, Judith Ann Hermes, on July 30, 1960. He was deployed to Fort Lewis, Washington in the Spring of 1962 where he spent 11 months. Judy and Paul joined him there for 8 of those 11 months.

After several short-term jobs, in 1960, Joe began working at Judy’s family business, Hermes Hardware & Marine and quickly became their boat and small motor repair specialist. He later became business partners with his brother-in-law Don Hermes. He had a distinguished 25-year career at Hermes Hardware and Marine. A few years after his career at the hardware store, Joe became a bailiff for the city of Racine. Joe was very popular with the judges, and they frequently requested his services. His bailiff years were highlighted by a famous murder case in which he had to be sequestered with the jury. As the bailiff, on off days from the trial, Joe was responsible for taking the jury out for dinner and entertaining them, which was his specialty. On the off days, they needed a female bailiff to help with the female members of the jury, so Judy was sworn in for the day to assist. Joe and Judy took them to Chi Chi's for lunch and went all out with the courthouse's money and let the jury have margaritas. They even had them over to their house where they celebrated Joe’s birthday with cake.

Together, Joe and Judy enjoyed 65 beautiful years of marriage and were overjoyed to become parents to their four beloved children, Paul, Pete, Perry, and Pam. Joe thrived in his role as a father, and he worked tirelessly 6 days a week, with one week of vacation a year, to raise his children and help send them to college. That one week of vacation was often spent with the Maritatos. They went to extravagant places like Milwaukee, Green Bay, Oconomowoc, and Alpine Valley Resort. The kids always had the time of their life with their cousins, Lisa, Mitch, Frank and Nancy. That is, until they went a little overboard with their rowdiness and troublemaking and got kicked out of the hotel for their last vacation together.

Joe always liked big luxury cars. From his all-time favorite 1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruiser Convertible to his Cadillacs and Lincoln Town Cars, Joe always had a big car in the garage. When the kids were little, the whole family would pile in that big car and just go for a Sunday drive. He was often on the lookout for what his next car would be. This eventually led to him visiting his good buddy Tom Garbo at Garbo Motors as part of his daily routine.

Once retired, he enjoyed annual vacations with Judy to California, Florida, Mississippi, Hawaii, and Las Vegas, usually driving to these destinations in one of those big comfortable cars, and often including casino stops along the way. He also enjoyed going to casinos closer to home and earned top tier status. He enjoyed the perks that went with that status. The perks included: bringing a guest to annual golf outings that usually involved appearances by famous Packer players, free meals and hotel stays, Packer games in Lambeau Field suites and many more freebies along the way. Even after his health prevented him from participating in many of the other things he had always enjoyed, his kids ensured he was still able to get to the casino until the very end.

Joe was a huge Packer fan dating back to the Lombardi days. He attended many games and lavish tailgate parties with family and friends. As we all know, the Packers had some lean years, and when he watched the games at home, anything within reach was in danger of being thrown at the TV.

Joe and Judy enjoyed going out on Saturday nights and would bring the party home and go downstairs into Joe’s disco themed “nightclub,” which included strobe lights and a disco ball. The music would be loud and was directly below the kids’ bedrooms as they tried to sleep, a cherished memory of the kids. The next-door neighbor said he could feel the beat in his bathroom!

Holidays were spent with family, and he loved making Christmas extra special. When the kids were little, Christmas Eve was always at his parents’ house. Joe would arrive late as he traditionally went out for a few drinks with Don Hermes after working at the store that day. Before he finally “arrived,” he came dressed as Santa, wearing sunglasses so the kids would not recognize him. He handed out gifts as each of his parents’ grandkids took turns sitting on Santa’s lap. His passion for Christmas evolved and each year he’d add more lights to his own outdoor (and indoor) displays. His displays even included speakers in the bushes so anyone walking by could listen to his Christmas music. His creativity was rewarded by mention in the Journal Times, on channel 6 news, and regular stops in front of the house by the touring trolley, which Joe would greet, once again as Santa, handing out candy canes.

Any event that had a microphone, Joe would have something comical to say, sometimes without regard to possibly offending part of the crowd. Like his toast at his youngest brother Dino’s wedding to his Greek bride Sophia, where he welcomed her into the family with “Here’s to the Greeks and the Greats!”

Joe was passionate about his Italian heritage picking up where his dad left off. He was ever-present at Roma Lodge, serving as a two-term president and long-time board member. He was a fixture at Bingo, writing checks on Thursday nights for 25 years, and volunteering at various events. He was the captain of the meatball bomber booth at the annual Roma Lodge Italian Festival for nearly 40 years. It was a lot of work, but after completing the preparations during the week prior, including pepper cutting and setting up the booth with carpet and padding to make his workers comfortable, he enjoyed the festival, socializing in the back with the volunteers and many visitors. He sold festival raffle tickets for months in advance and was perennially one of the top sellers of both tickets and sponsorships.

Joe began to really enjoy golf once he retired. He played until he was 87 years old. Mondays were league day at Ive’s Grove with his partner Don Cicero. Joe was often paired in foursomes with any combination of Don, Frank Maritato, and Joe Romano amongst others. His golf accomplishments include a first-place finish with a team in Las Vegas. He also enjoyed having Tuesday breakfast with many of these same guys and other friends.

Throughout his life, Joe was a constant source of strength and support for those around him, even in the most difficult of times. Through all that came his way, Joe made sure to hold his loved ones close. He was always willing to go above and beyond to serve others. His dedication to caring for his family and friends will always be remembered. Deeply loved, Joe will be forever missed by all who knew him.

Joseph Ralph Porcaro

July 31, 1936 – March 16, 2025

With his loving family by his side, Joseph Ralph Porcaro, age 88, passed away peacefully on March 16, 2025. Joe was born in Racine, Wisconsin on July 31, 1936, to Herman and Irene (nee: Bencriscutto) Porcaro.

Joe will be dearly missed by his wife Judy; children, Paul (Cheryl) Porcaro, Peter Porcaro, Perry (Sue) Porcaro and Pamela (Brian Ebener) Porcaro; grandchildren, Nicholas (Elise) Galis, Vincent (Alyssa) Galis, and Paige Porcaro; great-grandson Henry Valenza-Galis; siblings David (Maryann) Porcaro, Nita (Tom) Bain, Dino (Sophia) Porcaro; brothers-in-law Frank Maritato and Donald Hermes; nieces, nephews, cousins, other relatives and friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Herman and Irene (Bencriscutto) Porcaro; his sister, Diane Maritato; sisters-in-law Joyce (Harris) Hermes and Pauline (Paulus) Hermes; niece Lisa (Maritato) Peterson, and great-nephew Marcus Maritato.

The family would like to thank the nurses at Ascension SE Wisconsin-Franklin who went above and beyond with the care and comfort they provided in his final days, especially Emily, Megan, Dawn and Kristin. The Christmas lights in his room were an amazing touch that the family will always remember.

A visitation will be held at the funeral home on Tuesday March 25, 2025, from 4:00-7:00 pm with a Roma Lodge Service at 6:30 pm. A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating Joe’s life will be held at 11:00 am at St. Paul the Apostle Catholic Church, 6400 Spring St. on Wednesday March 26, 2025, with Rev. Marco Valentini officiating. A visitation will be held on Wednesday at 10:00 am until time of Mass at the church. Entombment will follow at Calvary Cemetery.