Joseph Albert Ceccacci age 60 of Galveston passed from this earthly life and entered his eternal home Monday December 19, 2022, at Jennie Sealy Hospital in Galveston while fighting a brave battle against Stage IV Lung Cancer right up to the bitter end. Funeral Mass is 10:00am Wednesday December 28, 2022, at St. Patrick's Catholic Church. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in Galveston under the direction of Carnes Brothers Funeral Home. The family will receive visitors from 5:00pm until 8:00pm on Tuesday at the funeral home where a rosary will be recited at 6:30pm.

Joe was born January 24, 1962, in Galveston, Texas to Donald Louis Ceccacci, Sr and Patsy Ceccacci. He was a 1981 graduate of Ball High School where he excelled in football. He married the love of his life, Gayla December 17, 1983. The couple just celebrated their 39 ^th year of marriage. Together they raised 2 beautiful daughters, Amy Jo and Janna, and only son Travis. In 1985, Joe decided to become Catholic and was baptized and confirmed at the 1986 Easter Vigil Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Galveston.

For much of his life Joe worked in the residential and commercial construction industry, having earned his journeyman carpenters license in 1988. For a brief period, Joe worked on the construction of a new building at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Many of the schools, offices, hospitals and businesses throughout Galveston Island and the Mainland were projects Joe worked on and was proud of.

When construction slowed down, Joe wasn't afraid to work odd jobs such as a maintenance man at St. Mary's Cathedral, Pizza delivery person, party boat deckhand or at a local bait camp.  Joe loved the outdoors and being on the water. He was an avid fisherman and was often out crabbing or fishing with his kids as they were growing up.  In his younger days, Joe enjoyed surfing. He was an excellent swimmer and made sure he taught all 3 of his children to swim and to respect the Gulf waters. Joe also had a special talent for training animals. He was an excellent dog trainer and trained many Labradors (Chocolate and Black) and a few Golden Retrievers throughout his lifetime. The family dogs were very well behaved and a pleasure to be around due to his training them to be polite and courteous. While at the bait camp he even taught the brown pelicans to answer "yes or no" questions with a simple piece of bread!

Joe was quite an artist too. This unique talent allowed him to create caricature drawings as well as colorful paintings on canvas. Some were abstract, others were creatures of the sea-such as sharks, dolphins, sea turtles and the like. He even taught himself how to make original costume jewelry such as bracelets, necklaces or pins. Soon this hobby of making jewelry evolved into the creation of seasonal pieces, such as Christmas ornaments, Mardi Gras decorations, etc. He really was a very gifted artist!

Joe was preceded in death by his father Donald Louis Ceccacci, Sr. and grandmothers Evelyn McGee and Dorothy Toler and many aunts and uncles. Left to cherish his memory are his mother, Patsy; brother Donald; sister Angela; his one and forever beloved wife Gayla; daughters Amy (John) and Janna (Orlando); son Travis (Erin); 6 grandchildren Emerald, Destiny, Valerie, Carter, Giovanni and Little Orlando whom he loved so dearly. And we must not forget his 4-legged fury brown "Lil Chocolate girl" Dixie. Joe had a loving, kind and generous heart that will be forever missed by all who knew and loved him.