Turcílio, José (1922–2013)

José Turcílio, canvasser and publishing leader, was born January 18, 1922, in the city of Cruz das Posses, state of São Paulo, Brazil. He was the son of Hercílio Turcílio and Elisabetha Bianculli Turcílio. His siblings were Aparecida (Borguetti), Edgard, Elza, Gilberto, Oracina, Silvio, and Waldemar.¹

As the eldest son, he began working early to help his family and he did not have enough time to study. His formal education consisted of attending a small rural school near his hometown where he learned to read.²

During his childhood he professed no religion. He learned of Adventism when he lived in the city of Sertãozinho, in the state of São Paulo, through a series of public evangelistic meetings led by Pastors José Dias de Campos and José Abreu Netto. He was baptized in 1947, in Sertãozinho, by Pastor Germano Streithorst.³ Since there was no local Adventist church, the following year he moved with his family to Ribeirão Preto, in the same state. The city district was quite extensive and the local church lacked leadership, because the pastor could not visit them very often. Shortly after his arrival, José was appointed director of the church, which made him responsible for arranging meetings and commissions.⁴ In the Ribeirão Preto church he met Djanira Bueno de Morais (1927-2014), born in the city of Cabo Verde, state of Minas Gerais. They married on October 19, 1950, in the city of Jaboticabal, state of São Paulo. From this union were born Elizabeth Lina Turcílio (1951-) and Josira Turcílio (da Silva) (1952-).⁵

In 1954 Joseph stopped working as an electrician in response to an invitation to serve the church full time as an accredited canvasser. He started this work in June in Ribeirão Preto, where he worked from 1954 to 1958. After about five years of service, due to his good performance he was invited by São Paulo Conference to be an assistant in the publishing department, and so he moved with his family to Santo Amaro, in the city of São Paulo. His function was to support the canvassers who worked in the different cities of the state, supervising the canvassing campaigns.⁶ He pioneered the work of forming specialized teams to sell the magazines “Vida e Saúde,” “O Atalaia,” “Mocidade,” and “Nosso Amiguinho.” ⁷ José worked in this position until 1980, when he retired due to back injuries.⁸

After retiring he kept active in his local church. During his Christian life, he served as a Sabbath School teacher and gave Bible studies to many interested people who wanted to know more about the Bible. In 1990 he moved with his wife to the city of Artur Nogueira where he spent his last years. He died on June 24, 2013, in Artur Nogueira, where he was also buried.⁹

Source

“José Turcílio.” Revista Adventista, year 108, no. 1263, August 2013, 41. Accessed May 6, 2016, http://acervo.revistaadventista.com.br/.

Notes

1. Elizabeth Lina Turcílio, email to Maria Júlia A. P. dos Santos, November 30, 2016.↩

2. Ibid.↩

3. Elizabeth Lina Turcílio, email to Maria Júlia A. P. dos Santos, November 30, 2016; and “José Turcílio,” Revista Adventista, year 108, n. 1263, August 2013, 41.↩

4. Ibid.↩

5. Ibid.↩

6. Ibid.↩

7. “José Turcílio,” Revista Adventista, 41.↩

8. Elizabeth Lina Turcílio, email to Maria Júlia A. P. dos Santos, November 30, 2016.↩

9. Ibid.↩