Joseph W. "Bill" Sturgeon

Jan 5, 1947 -

June 8, 2020

Joseph William Sturgeon "Bill," age 73, of Tulare, Calif., passed away on Monday, June 8, 2020. He is survived by his childhood sweetheart, Carol Schneider; his sons, Paul Sturgeon and Michael Conner; two daughters, Brandi Sturgeon and Debbie Sturgeon; and one nephew, Khas Sturgeon. Bill had five grandchildren, Jimmy, Stacy, Ashley, Gesiah and DaShawn; and five great-grandchildren, McKenzie, Skyler, Penny, Jordan and Lincoln.

Bill was born in Tulare on Jan, 5, 1947m to Joseph Sturgeon and Nancy Perri. He had one brother, Gary, who died in November 2019. He lost his parents at a young age due to a family tragedy and was raised by his aunt Lena Lawrence and his uncle Wiltern Bryan. That tragedy is what ultimately brought him to Alaska, where he met and married Carol Schneider in 1968.

Joseph could accomplish anything he set his mind to mechanically. He was very generous and friendly.

For most of his life he was a truck driver - one of the absolute best. He worked everywhere from the Territory of Guam in the North Pacific Ocean to the frozen Arctic in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska. His jobs took place in some of the most extreme environments on Earth. He worked on the trans-Alaska pipeline from the early days of exploration, all of the construction phases as well as the ongoing support operations.

He could operate or fix any type of equipment in virtually any situation, even when it was 80 below zero in the middle of a raging storm. He was an ice road trucker for Carlile Transportation before anyone knew what that was. He trained or worked with most of the drivers working in Alaska today. More recently, he worked in Minnesota and spent the last 10 years driving long haul loads for Fuchs Trucking in Melrose. He would still take special loads in Alaska and Canada when highly-skilled drivers were needed for critical projects.

He was very generous and would always help anyone in need. He touched many lives. He was a loving and genuine man who will be missed dearly.

Funeral Services will be posted via Facebook.