On July 10th, 2022, Joseph Frank Cardinale, after a brave one year battle with bile duct cancer, passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by his family, as he went to be with his Savior Jesus Christ.

Pep was born March 26th, 1955 and was called Peppe from birth, after his grandfather Giuseppe, which means Joseph in Italian.  Pep grew up in a traditional Italian home up on a hill in Monterey.  It was known as "Spaghetti Hill" or "Little Italy" as it was primarily Italians that lived there.  His father, also Joe, was a fisherman and was one of the youngest captains that owned his own purse seiner.  Pep's mother Catherine ran the home and took care of their 4 children when his Dad was away fishing.  The four children were in order, Marie Jo, Salvatore, Peppe, and Frank.  Pep's mother and his grandmother, Speranza, worked in the canneries on Cannery Row.  His family, along with many of their neighbors, were a very important part of the Monterey Bay fishing history.

Pep had an idyllic childhood playing army with his friends, selling newspapers in downtown Monterey as a Newsie, gathering with friends and family on the beach to eat French bread and fresh sea urchins (ricci's), picnics on the weekends in Big Sur, playing sports, church at San Carlos, and pasta every Sunday night at Nonna's.

His childhood was rich with Italian culture. He was proud to be Italian, specifically Sicilian.  His father grew up on a tiny island off of Sicily called Marettimo.  His mother's family originated from Sicily as well.  Pep often joked that, "there are only two kinds of people, Italians and those who want to be!"

He grew up loving music and sports.  He went to Monterey High School and thrived on playing football and basketball as a "Torreador."  So began his lifelong passion for basketball.  He always said that he wished he was just a few inches taller.  His brother Sal, who is four inches taller, played basketball for Cal Poly and was head coach for the Monterey Peninsula College basketball team for 14 years.  Pep loved to talk "basketball" with his brother Sal.  The last few years, every year, during March Madness, they would fly to Vegas, haggle with scalpers for the best tickets, attend game after game, talk strategy for hours, and then wind down with a few games of blackjack!  Nothing kept them away, not COVID or even cancer.

After high school, Pep attended MPC, and it was during that time, at a dance, that he met the love of his life, Sheryle.  She was passionate about horses and had always said that, one day, she was going to marry a cowboy.  To that, he told her that he was better than a cowboy, he was the Italian Stallion!  After he graduated from MPC, Pep went to Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo.  He got his degree in Social Science and then returned home to contemplate his future.  He worked in his parents fish market but decided that he did not want to smell like fish every day of his life.  After an important discussion with his parents and his brother Sal, he decided to go back to Cal Poly to earn a teaching credential and a Master's in Counseling and Guidance.  He always said this was one of the best decisions he ever made.  He got married in 1978 and moved to San Luis Obispo.  While his wife worked nights in nursing, Pep worked two jobs and finished grad school.  He then got a position teaching at Paso Robles High School where he worked as a teacher for a while and then as a Guidance Counselor for 33 years.

Pep and his wife went on to have 3 children, Cori Marie, Jamie Lynn, and Daniel Joseph.  Their home was filled with love, music and animals.  They believed strongly in raising their kids to be close with family, and they made every effort to pack up the kids every chance they got to drive up to the Monterey Peninsula and spend time with both of their families.  They spent time celebrating holidays and birthdays and vacationing together, they water skied and snow skied, and spent time just being together.  They loved that their kids knew all of their many cousins well and they grew up loving each other and even now keep in touch.  Over the years Pep worked extra jobs to make ends meet.  He taught evenings out at the Boy's School, a correctional facility, and he later worked one evening a week counseling for Cuesta College, which he continued doing for over 20 years.  Pep still loved sports and played basketball during the lunch break every single day at work with a small group of teachers, coaches and some students.  Outside of work he was learning to golf and he played basketball for a recreation league.  Their team were called the Sox.  They were unbelievably undefeated for 15 years!  He also spent time supporting his students by attending many of their games in all kinds of sports.  He loved his students and worked very hard all year, every year, keeping long time connections with people in the community to support the scholarship program, which, for a very long time, he was in charge of.  He was so excited every year to be a part of organizing Scholarship Night and seeing deserving kids receive thousands of dollars to pursue their educations.  He supported the students in so many meaningful ways, one of those was the Foreign Exchange Program.  Over the years Pep and Sheryle hosted 4 exchange students.  They truly became a part of the Cardinale family.  Pep had a gift in communicating with people of all ages and backgrounds.  That gift combined with his humor, and his kind, generous heart was a winning combination.  Pep was a rock.  He was steadfast, calm, and got things done, most of the time, without even looking like he was putting out much effort.  He made everything that he did, look easy.  Having part of the summer off each year enabled him to do many things, mostly he took on extra jobs to make extra money.  His father kept a boat up in Alaska and for years, fished for salmon every summer.  One of Pep's most cherished memories was when he got to work side by side, fishing for salmon with his Dad, in Alaska.  Pep had a spiritual side that truly became of utmost importance to him.  He read his bible every morning and really studied it.  He was in a small men's group that met early before work for years.  They would do bible studies, talk and pray about what they learned, and then pray for each other.  He was the kind of guy that was going to apply things that made sense to him, to his life, work and family.  If you were to ask him, he would tell you that the bible taught him how to truly love.  God's word humbled him.  God's word convicted him, changed his heart, and helped him be a better person.  It also filled his heart with peace in knowing where he was going to go when he died.  He had no fear, just peace.  Pep was deeply loved by many.  His smiling eyes, infectious grin, witty humor, and practical jokes made all of our lives better.  He loved to laugh and to make others laugh!  His humor was truly legend to all who knew him.  His natural personality was infectious and made him fun and funny, but it was his personal faith that helped him grow and mature into a man of integrity, who kept his promises and was dependable.  He was a man who knew what was important and what wasn't.  He expected a lot from his kids, but only wanted them to be happy and to be their best selves.  He truly cared about people, always seeking and finding ways to help them.  It showed in everything that he did, the choices he made, and the example he set.  He was a family man, a leader at work, and a mentor to countless students.  He had many connections in the community and was a friend to all he encountered.  He was for everyone, and helped anyone.  Even still, his heart and life's legacy was centered at home.  He was married for a couple weeks shy of 44 years.  He took his vows very seriously and was at his wife's side through countless procedures, 7 surgeries, and years of chronic pain.  He never complained but quietly picked up the slack and did whatever needed to be done.  He spoke about the fact that he would not have changed one thing about his life, that he had no regrets; that he loved the life he'd had.  Since his diagnosis, he thought about his life and his most cherished memories.  He reminisced the many trips with family and friends, to Europe, the cruise up the East coast, RV trips through many states, to Hawaii and Mexico, and how they bought the cabin in Kyburz, a dream finally realized, and their first Christmas there.  He talked about the special group of guys he frequently golfed with and how much they meant to him and how after he got sick, they made him feel so loved.  He talked about their prayer group and all of the friendships in his life, so many, and how blessed he was.   He talked about all of the prayers that were said of his behalf, and how they sustained and strengthened him.  He talked about how being sick with cancer was a gift of sorts, and how it gave him some time to really think about his life and tell people that he loved them.  He talked about how much he loved his kids and grandkids, how special each of them were and how they had blessed him.  He joked about how he and his friend Dick were going to smoke a big fat cigar up in heaven and ask God a bunch of questions!  He said many times, that he had everything a man could want and more and that he had learned that what was important in life was God, family and friends and that he was ready to go meet Jesus.

He was preceded in death by his mother Catherine and his father Joe.  He is survived by his devoted wife Sheryle, his 3 children Cori (Jake) Mensing, Jamie (JR) Cardinale-Webb, Daniel Cardinale, his 6 grandchildren,

Dillon Mensing(20), Grace Mensing(18), Emma Mensing(16), Drew Webb(6), August Webb(2), Luca Cardinale(1), his 3 siblings Marie Jo (Horace) Cardinale, Sal (Gretchen) Cardinale, Frank (Susan) Cardinale, his in-laws Sylvia Hauswirth, Bob (Sheri) Hauswirth, Steve Hauswirth, and his large extended family.

We invite all whose lives were touched by our beloved Joe "Pep" Cardinale, to join us at his "Celebration of Life" service at Paso Robles Event Center (Estrella Room) on September 17th, 2022, at 11:00 am, 2198 Riverside Ave., Paso Robles, CA. 93446

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to Central Coast Home Health & Hospice , 253 Granada Dr., Suite D, San Luis Obispo, CA. 93401  Tel. (805) 543-2244

or:

"Joe Cardinale Scholarship Fund" managed by "Sheryle Cardinale" at Mechanics Bank 845 Spring St., Paso Robles, CA. 93446  Please make checks out to Sheryle Cardinale and designate to: Joe Cardinale Scholarship Fund,

Mail to 740 Ivy Lane, Paso Robles, CA 93446