Birth date: Sep 2, 1957 Death date: Aug 6, 2024
Joe Contillo passed away unexpectedly on August 6, 2024. He is survived by his four daughters, brother, sister, and four grandchildren. Joe was deeply connected to the ocean through surfing, fishing, and his work as a marine biolo Read Obituary
It's November 7th, 2024 ... a good three months since I chatted with Joey. Way too long. Well, I was broken this evening when I discovered he passed in August. I'll miss our talks. Thanks for listening and being such a good friend. I was hoping to catch one last swell with you. Sure makes you think about what's important. Love you and miss you bud.
I am still shocked by Joe's sudden passing. To me, Joe was ageless - an eternal youth at heart and in spirit. I worked at NOAA Fisheries with Joe for 14 years. When I was hired in 1990, he and I shared an office. It was fun getting to know him and having him play the guitar to a good song on the radio every so often. Joe was one of the divers who was always willing to help me collect data for my dissertation project and for our black grouper research. He got involved with the marine mammal group and truly loved his project on photo-identifying individual dolphins. I loved hearing his band play - they were really good! I moved to Oregon in 2007, so in my mind, Joe was still the surfing, diving, fishing, musician, living life to the fullest. I just can't believe he's gone. Joe was an enthusiastic, fun, kind, and generous man who enjoyed sharing his zest for life with others. We can all learn a lesson from him and enjoy each day to the best that we possibly can.
Joe was a father, surfer, diver, lover of oceans and the outdoors. He was a musician and a genuinely good-natured person. He was my colleague and therefore shared many of my interests. I knew he had been working longer than I had and I respected his knowledge of the marine environment, rightly earned from years of experience, but when I found out how much older than me he was, I couldn’t believe it! He looked so good for his age, continuing to participate in activities like surfing and diving that kept him fit, which was good because he was young at heart. When I learned his actual age, I genuinely thought to myself, I want to be fit like Joe when I’m his age, and I hope I can continue to surf and dive like he does as I get older. I think probably everyone that met Joe thought the same thing. So I was shocked when I heard the news that Joe had passed. It didn’t make any sense, and it hurts. I knew he was starting to think about retirement, but I was looking forward to surfing and diving and hiking and working with Joe for at least a few more years, then celebrating his retirement. We could spend all day diving for work, and I definitely appreciated that he would still have enough energy to catch some waves after work. On some days that the waves might be mediocre, the paddle out in a beautiful location and our shared appreciation of the ocean’s natural beauty even made those after-work sessions worthwhile. Joe liked doing the kinds of things that I liked doing, appreciated the things that I appreciate, and was someone you liked being around. And he was funny! We hiked together in the Virgin Islands and I remember hiking with him in St. John, with him hiking barefoot and complaining when he kept stepping on thorns! But he really didn’t care. It was more comfortable walking in the tropics barefoot. The world’s not the same without Joe and I’m lucky to have known him, and have some great memories. But I wish I had more. My sincere condolences to his family, who I didn’t get a chance to meet. I’m sorry I can’t be there in person to grieve with you all for this wonderful person. And I’m sure you know this, but Joe was really loved and appreciated by many people. Going forward, it won’t be possible to do many of the things I love doing without thinking of Joe because Joe loved doing those things too, but I’ll try to hold on to the memories and the fun times. I had a nice sunset surf the other day that I dedicated to Joe. It was my first surf session after hearing the news. I was in Wrightsville Beach at the Crystal Pier, and there were remnants of tropical storm Debby that gave some nice clean swell, not too big, but lots of longboarders out, so Joe would have fit right in. I was with my son who I had earlier talked to about Joe, and I even think that Joe had mentioned surfing up this way previously. He would have loved it! Miss you and love you Joe, and rest in peace brother.
Joey, RIP my brother. So many good memories. Scottie’s on Friday nights, Goliath grouper trips to Chokoloskee, dolphin genetic sample hunts, fish trap studies, and especially the diving for research. Lobster hunting in Bear Cut, wow!! One of the best field biologists I ever worked with. Miss ya Joe!
I met Joe in the mid 1980s when I started working at the Fisheries Miami Lab. He had his own dress code which did not always include shirt and shoes. Over the 11 years I was at the lab I noticed Joe had an interesting way of updating his annual RIckenbacker Causeway pass. An example of creative problem solving. Worked quite well until the passes went digital.
Joe was generally a cheerful guy - and always a source of entertainment. I liked interacting with him. Always a cool dude.
I became his de facto boss when he came over to my program. I was happy to have him on my team - he did well and he never let me down. When he came to my team he got a new office. Unsurprisingly, his office ended up looking like a small surf shop, with a guitar or two thrown in.
After I left Miami in 1995, I’d see Joe once in a while. He helped out with numerous botttenose dolphin health assessment field projects I was involved with from 2003 - 2015 or so. I always enjoyed reconnecting with Joe on these projects. He was in his element - out on and in the water. And doing whatever needed to be done. And getting up early to catch a few waves before the daily field work started. Endless energy. I will miss him.
