Joseph Tupper Obituary

Joseph Tupper
June 19, 2024
Joseph T. Tupper, 80, of Manlius, died on June 19, 2024, after a brief illness.
The January 1, 1944, New Year's Baby of Massena, New York was driven home from the hospital in a brand spanking-new 1944 Buick. His name was Joseph.
Not long after, his family moved to Malone, New York, where a wonderfully ordinary, old-fashioned boyhood began.
Joe attended Franklin Academy. A bit of a cut-up, from time to time he took home teachers' notes his mortified mother had to sign.
Magic happened at Sunday dinners at Grampa's. Grampa could find quarters behind Joe's ear - and let him keep them. His Aunt Florence made the best donuts, hard as rock but divine. He baited cousin Sally to wrestle him to the floor. She won and wouldn't get off.
Joe probably peeled more than his share of potatoes at Boy Scout Camp Bedford. The Scoutmaster's assigned him and his buddy to assemble his camp bed. That night, the weary man got into bed and crashed to the floor.
Joe delivered the Malone Evening Telegram through summer heat and numbing north country winters. As every old paperboy knows, that brought tips, the fruit of hard labor.
Tomfoolery abounded. Joe and his buddies snuck into the movie house for the Saturday double feature, gorged (regretfully) on unripe apples, and collapsed in hysterics after calling the pharmacist to ask if he had Prince Edward in a can.
This very same Joe shed his altar boy vestments to enter the seminary at Wadhams Hall in Ogdensburg. It lasted a year.
In time, his parents moved to Syracuse. Graduating from LeMoyne College in 1965 with a BS in Biology, Joe headed to SUNY Albany.
Four years later, Joe had achieved a Ph.D. and completed post-doctoral work. With his wife and new son (and his Big Wheel), "Dr. Joe" headed home.
From September 1970 to his retirement 50 years later, Joe taught in Syracuse University's Biology Department. He was awarded numerous grants for research projects in the field of cell physiology and authored 25 peer-reviewed papers for publication in international scientific journals. He frequently traveled to the National Institutes of Health to join study sections to review NIH grant applications from other scientists in his field.
But his favorite trip was the one he took each day after work to see his aging parents on Maryland Ave.
Over time, Joe became a landlord in the university neighborhood and beyond. He mowed, trimmed, repaired, and scrubbed with the same fervor that lit up his lectures on mitochondria.
Always, home was where Joe's heart was. A family-first kind of man, he encouraged his children to pursue their dreams and was incredibly proud of their accomplishments. He gave safe harbor and endless love.
As his wife brought more and more rescue and shelter dogs into their empty nest, Joe's compassion for animals deepened and he quietly supported many local animal causes. His own dogs trailed behind him like ducklings because wherever Joe went, samples of human food were sure to follow.
Joe's patchwork crew of adopted dogs dwindled down to two small elderly ones. How Joe pined for "just one more big dog." It wasn't to be.
Joseph Thomas Tupper died on June 19, 2024. As he requested, there will be no services. He was predeceased by his parents, Oscar Francis and Marie Harriet Tupper and his sister, Rosalyn M. Bissonette.
Joe is survived by his wife of 58 years, Marcia Billy Tupper, son Benjamin (Naomi Oyanagi), daughter Hillary (Quinn Pinner), grandchildren Eli, Isaac, Mac, and Addis Tupper, cousin Sally Lepine, a niece and nephew, and of course, ever hopeful Polo and predictably naughty Peekaboo.
Joe's silent, unheralded but unfailing support helped bring to life a small nonprofit to assist pet owners with the cost of spays and neuters. In lieu of flowers, donations in Joe's memory may be made to Fixing to Help, PO Box 194, Manlius, NY, 13104.
For guest book, please visit:
www.SCHEPPFAMILY.com