Arthur Zemon’s Family Tree

from: [email protected] <[email protected]>
to: Art Zemon <[email protected]>
date: Dec 25, 2023, 8:14 PM
subject: PS To: 'Thought You Might Want To Know...

From hmy father's obit':

Turnoy, Herbert Samuel born December 15, 1920 in ND, died peacefully October 28, 2003 in Phoenix, Arizona... loving brother of Zona (wife of the late Peter Giarrusso, Ph.D. of New Orleans and uncle to his children); son of the late Isaac and Celia. Veteran of WWII Signal Corps, Coast Guard Auxiliary....

You might want to correct those two fields.

Yours,
Bernard

PS. My uncle Peter was quite an extraordinary person, as was his family - for a host of reasons:
Alfred Peter "Pete" Giarrusso, a retired vice president of academics at Delgado Community College, died Wednesday of pneumonia at Lifecare Hospitals of New Orleans. He was 83 years of age.

Mr. Giarrusso was a lifelong resident of New Orleans. He graduated from Warren Easton High School. He received bachelor's and master's degrees from Tulane University and a doctorate in educational administration from the University of Arkansas.

Mr. Giarrusso began his career at Delgado in 1950 and held a variety of positions including English professor, athletic director, director of guidance, dean of employee relations and assistant to the president.

He was former director of the Delgado Law Enforcement Program and a guest lecturer for the New Orleans Police Academy. He retired from Delgado in 1981.

Mr. Giarrusso was a boxing referee and judge licensed by the Louisiana Athletic Commission. He was also licensed in Texas; Alabama; Marsala, Italy; Japan and Indonesia. He was a former member of the boxing teams at Warren Easton, Loyola University and the New Orleans Athletic Club.

Before WW II, Pete Giarrusso lived for several years at Biloxi, Mississippi where he was physical director and trained young boxers at St. Michael's CYO. Thelma G. Bellande, his sister, lived at Biloxi at this time. He ran for Justice of the Peace in Harrison County, Mississippi Beat1 in June 1939. Pete joined the American national Insurance Company at Biloxi in September 1940.

He was a former president of the University of New Orleans chapter of Phi Delta Kappa, and was a member of the Louisiana Personnel and Guidance Association, the Louisiana chapter of the International Personnel Management Association, the Association of Louisiana College and University Personnel Administrators, the advisory committee for the University of New Orleans Counselor Training Program and the Region VI Manpower Advisory Committee. He was a Navy veteran of World War II.

Survivors include his wife, Zona Turnoy Giarrusso; a son, Peter James Giarrusso of Denham Springs [just retired as Ass't Atty General of Louisiana]; three daughters, Judy Hansen of Seattle, Jerel Giarrusso of Zachary and Joel Giarrusso of Fayetteville, Ark.; three brothers, Harold "Happy" Giarrusso, Clarence Giarrusso and Joseph Giarrusso; a sister, Thelma Bellande of Biloxi, Miss.; and six grandchildren.

 

REFERENCES:
The Daily Herald, [Biloxi, MS], "Peter Giarusso [sic] for JP, Beat 1", June 14, 1939, p. 1.

The Daily Herald, [Biloxi, MS], "Trains Champions", September 20, 1940, p .8.

The Daily Herald, [Biloxi, MS], "Biloxi News Paragraphs", September 23, 1940, p. 3.

The Times-Picayune, (New Orleans, LA) - "RETIRED DELGADO VP PETE GIARRUSSO DIES", February 21, 1997.
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/135402552/alfred-peter-giarrusso

Judge, Harold "Happy" Giarrusso, Judge, Clarence Giarrusso and Joseph Giarrusso were also rather... extraordinary.
Clarence Benedict Giarrusso Sr.

BIRTH
28 Mar 1921
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA
DEATH
2 Nov 2007 (aged 86)
Hahnville, St. Charles Parish, Louisiana, USA
BURIAL
Greenwood Cemetery
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA
PLOT
33 Jessamine Venus Osier
MEMORIAL ID
22664170 · View Source

MEMORIAL
PHOTOS 2
FLOWERS 3

Police chief in turbulent 1970s dies
He led force during sniper attack, unrest
Sunday, November 04, 2007
By Brendan McCarthy
Staff writer
Clarence B. Giarrusso, a World War II veteran who went on to lead the New Orleans Police Department through most of the turbulent 1970s, died Friday evening at East Jefferson General Hospital, his family said. He was 86.

Mr. Giarrusso, an Algiers resident, became a Juvenile Court judge after his years as police superintendent, during which he led the force through a series of tribulations including a 1973 sniper incident that left several officers and civilians dead...

A stern man built like a boxer, Mr. Giarrusso "loved being a policeman," his daughter Cathy Mielke said. "He liked knowing that he was getting the bad guys off the street."

He fought a growing drug culture in the 1960s, when marijuana possession was a felony and the French Quarter was a crime hot spot, and he battled with Black Panther members during a time of changing social and political mores.

Raised in the working-class Treme neighborhood, Mr. Giarrusso was the youngest of 11 children. He enlisted in the Marines as a teenager.

After serving in World War II, he returned to New Orleans in the late 1940s. He soon earned his high school diploma and began studying at Tulane University, his wife said in a 1970 interview.

Mr. Giarrusso began dating Louise Viviano shortly after he returned from the war. They later wed and had three children.

In 1949, Mr. Giarrusso joined the Police Department as an officer in the motorcycle division. He rose through the ranks and in 1956 began running the narcotics division. It was here, family and former colleagues said, that he first made his mark.

At the time, marijuana use was burgeoning and police made narcotics arrests a priority, especially in the French Quarter.

In 1960, Mr. Giarrusso's younger, more outspoken brother Joseph was named police superintendent. When Moon Landrieu became mayor in 1970, he appointed Mr. Giarrusso to succeed his brother, who had recently retired from the post.

The new superintendent inherited a department of about 1,400 officers -- 50 officers larger than today's force. He battled with the City Council for a larger budget and overtime pay for officers.

Mr. Giarrusso's military background served as a foundation for his stern but understanding style, former colleagues said.

"He commanded respect. He looked like a prizefighter -- he was a stocky, tough guy," said Willie Patin, who retired in 1980 and is now a national trustee for the Louisiana Fraternal Order of Police.

"Back then, there was an aura around these older veteran leaders," Patin said. "They had a huge presence. As a young police officer, you wouldn't just walk up to him and say, 'Hey, what's shaking, chief?' "

Gus Krinke, who served as a public information officer for Mr. Giarrusso, said his boss was one of the most honest men wearing a badge at the time. "If he had any faults, it was that he was compassionate," Krinke said. "He was not a politician. Yet he would never acquiesce to anyone or anything. He ran a taut ship."

Mr. Giarrusso led local law enforcement through a period marked by wrenching social change. Racial tensions engulfed the city during much of the 1960s and '70s, and battles between Black Panthers and police were sometimes marked by violence.

Conflict came to a head in November 1970, a few months into Mr. Giarrusso's reign as superintendent, when Panthers and police faced off in a daylong confrontation at the Desire public housing complex. More than 250 officers marched into Desire with a tank rolling beside them. Everyone feared bloodshed, but in the end no one was injured. "It was a time of civil unrest, but there were never any riots," Krinke recalled. "He listened to people and was reasonable."

A few years later, Mr. Giarrusso commanded the force through one of its darkest days. In January 1973, a 23-year-old man named Mark Essex began shooting people at a Howard Johnson hotel on Loyola Avenue. Taking refuge on the hotel's roof, high above the city, Essex continued firing for hours, ultimately killing seven people. Among the victims were four police officers, including Mr. Giarrusso's second-in-command and a cadet.

Initially, no one was sure whether the sniper, a black man targeting white victims, was part of a broader planned militant uprising or was acting alone. Essex was fatally shot in the standoff.

Mr. Giarrusso retired from the Police Department in 1978. During his tenure, criminal activity declined 9.2 percent, according to a New Orleans States-Item article at the time.

In accepting a civic award around that time, he said, "The department is only as good as the citizens," according to the article. "Fortunately, New Orleans has not faced some of the problems of other major cities."

While with the NOPD, Mr. Giarrusso took classes at local universities. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Loyola University and a criminal justice degree and law degree from Tulane University, his family said.

"He often said life was about honesty and education," his grandson Brant Mielke said. "He was always pushing school, talking about bettering oneself."

Capt. Danny Lawless, a friend and former colleague, said Mr. Giarrusso was a smart "street cop." Later in life, with three degrees, he never flaunted his learning.

"He was absolutely selfless," Lawless said. "He never talked about himself. And after he was gone, we realized how great he was."

Following his retirement from policing, Mr. Giarrusso won election as a Juvenile Court judge. He served until 1992.

"He enjoyed helping troubled youth," his daughter said. "It was a whole new job, a whole new world to him."

In retirement, he had more time for his love of fishing. The fish he caught in a small boat in Lake Borgne often ended up in skillets.

Besides his wife and daughter, survivors include a son, Clarence Giarrusso Jr.; a daughter, Lea Giarrusso; three grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

GIARRUSSO Clarence B. Giarrusso, retired Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department and retired Juvenile Court Judge, went to heaven on Friday, November 2, 2007 at the age of 86. Beloved husband of Catherine Viviano Giarrusso. Loving father of Lea M. Giarrusso, Cathy Giarrusso Mielke, and Clarence B. Giarrusso Jr. Son of the late Mary and James Giarrusso. Brother of the late Joseph, Maurice, Rudolph, James, Lester, Peter, Lucille, Rosalie, Thelma and Harold Giarrusso. Proud grandfather of Brant, Natalia and Catherine Mielke. Father in law of Charles Mielke, Lori Giarrusso and Joel Jungers.
Published in The Times-Picayune on 11/5/2007. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/22664170/clarence-benedict-giarrusso
. . . . . . .

 

Joseph I. ""Chief'' Giarrusso, retired Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department and former member of the New Orleans City Council, passed away on Wednesday, December 21, 2005 at the age of 82. Beloved husband of the late Doris Ann Loup Giarrusso. Loving father of Joseph I. Giarrusso Jr. Father-in-law of Robin M. Giarrusso. Son of the late James and Mary Giarrusso. Brother of Clarence B. Giarrusso and the late Maurice, Rudolph, James, Lester, Peter, Lucille, Rosalie, Thelma and Harold Giarrusso. Proud grandfather of Joseph I. Giarrusso III and Courtney Elizabeth Giarrusso.

Joseph I. Giarrusso, 82, a segregation-era New Orleans police chief who later became a populist politician with a following among blacks and whites, died Dec. 21 in New Orleans. No cause of death was reported.

Mr. Giarrusso ended four decades of public service in 1997 when he resigned a mostly ceremonial post coordinating the city's criminal justice agencies under Mayor Marc Morial. But during his day, Mr. Giarrusso was considered a power broker in New Orleans politics.

In 1979, he once carried a shotgun into City Hall to dramatize his call for a better-armed police force. And in 1985, he knocked Hank Braden, a former state senator and an adviser to then-Mayor Sidney Barthelemy, to the floor of Ruth's Chris Steak House with a punch.

He managed to shed the Jim Crow image fashioned during his term as police superintendent, from 1960 to 1970, evolving into a fierce defender of the city's working class as an at-large City Council member from 1976 to 1994.

His friends and family said he fought to live down one of the worse moments of his tenure as police chief, the expulsion of black protesters from a whites-only cafeteria in the City Hall basement. In an image that would be replayed in countless documentaries, officers dragged the Rev. Avery Alexander, a prominent civil rights leader and future state representative, up a flight of stairs, one step at a time.

"He had the unfortunate experience during the 1960s of enforcing state segregation laws, and I think he probably looked back at a later period in his life and saw there was much wrong with that period," said former mayor Moon Landrieu, a friend and ally of Mr. Giarrusso's.
Mr. Giarrusso, a New Orleans native, was the youngest of 11 children. During World War II, he was an enlisted radioman aboard Navy bombers and patrol planes. When the war ended, he joined the city's police force.

After distinguishing himself as head of the narcotics squad, in 1957 Mr. Giarrusso was appointed deputy police chief by Mayor deLesseps Morrison. His brother, Clarence B. Giarrusso, was a former New Orleans police superintendent.

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2005/12/23/new-orleans-politician-joseph-giarrusso/9ccb8047-051a-41b5-8d3c-04158804049f/

Also, though it may take a while to load, you may be interested in: https://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/09/88/51/00001/racecivilrightsu00spiv.pdf

Digging a little deeper on Uncle Peter's / his mother's family:
https://biloxihistoricalsociety.org/book/export/html/5