John Anthony Turturro
Vite… Visione…Veritas
John was a true Renaissance man. Loving and charismatic, brave, and courageous, gentle, and kind, with a positive spirit that exuded intellect, curiosity, and understanding. John saw the world differently than most, and there also was his wicked sense of humor, that we all loved so much.
A wildly talented and brilliant designer, teacher, confidante, loyal friend and brother, John created a successful design business, Turturro Design Studio, as well as mentored hundreds of students over the years, teaching Architecture and Design classes at Ventura College, College of The Canyons, and Woodbury University for over 2 decades. Many of his students went on to create successful design careers for themselves, which his wonderful legacy for John.
The projects that John was most proud of included The Jump House, Ojai, CA, 3 Palms, Mussel Shoals, CA and his current project, a new state-of-the-art kennel for The Ventura County Humane Society in Ojai.
John enjoyed designing from the ground up and created beautiful residential and commercial landscapes and gardens, interior spaces, but his favorite by far, was architecture. John’s designs were hand drawn and works of art in themselves, and he truly made the world a more beautiful place.
John has been published in Dwell on Design, 805 Living, Ventana, Cambria Style Magazine, and WW Magazine, London (Self Build & Design) and served on the planning commission for the City of Santa Paula 03-07 and completed many civic projects in town.
John’s crowning achievement, however, was being a loyal and devoted husband to his soul mate, Karen Donato and a loving uncle to his niece, Francesca Iannaccone. He was also an avid animal lover.
Born in Brooklyn, NY, John grew up in Newbury Park, CA during the halcyon days of the 60s. Exploring the hills, riding bikes with his friends and surfing in the ocean, under the shining, summer sun. He also enjoyed many trips to Hawaii with his brother Frank, which he always cherished.
He finished high school in the 70s and went on to Moorpark College and UCLA, before beginning his design career in the 80s at Miller Dupuis Designs, and Neil Bokal and Associates, before joining Hilton Hotels Corporation in Beverly Hills, while living in Venice Beach. He went on to oversee R&D for Kinko’s Corporation in the 90s, traveling extensively, before starting his own firm.
John and Karen met in Ventura in 1999, while driving in their cars on Karen’s 40th birthday and were together from that moment on. They built a beautiful life together in Ventura County, first restoring a vintage hillside home and later purchasing another home high in the hills of Santa Paula, with a view out to the sea. They also enjoyed visiting their mid-century modern home in Palm Desert and swimming in the pool and enjoying fabulous Happy Hours on El Paseo and in La Quinta, and gorgeous sunsets over the desertscape.
They hosted family and friends over the years, to fabulous Christmas Parties, birthday parties, Easter, and 4th of July celebrations, to watch the fireworks from their homes.
John loved to cook and was a master gardener (he learned from his father, Joe) and it was fun to see John driving his vintage 450 SL (which he lovingly restored), around town or in the Central Coast Wine Country, for a fabulous lunch and a day of antiquing.
Some of John and Karen’s favorite memories were made in the Santa Barbara area, Hawaii, New York, and Paris, although just walking in the hills above their home and admiring their stunning views, in recent years, were the most gratifying.
John leaves behind a lasting, legacy of laughter and love for those who were fortunate enough to know him.
We would like to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Dr. Andrew E. Hendifar, and team at Cedars Sinai, who have treated John for metastatic liver NETS since 2014. John was a brilliant fighter, a true success story and an inspiration to many.
A celebration of John’s life will be planned for a later date.
In lieu of flowers, please make donations in John’s honor to The VC Humane Society, Ojai CA/New Kennel Project. We will get that kennel built!
Rest in Peace, my love, until we meet again.