Dennis Ronald Turco

01/31/1954 - 01/12/2026

 Dennis Ronald Turco, 71, husband, father, and grandfather, passed away peacefully in his sleep at home in Veneta, Oregon, on Monday, January 12th, 2026.

 Dennis was born and raised in Fontana, California. In 1978, he and his wife relocated to Grants Pass, Oregon where they lived until retiring to Veneta, Oregon in 2018. He was an avid motorcycle enthusiast, and a member of the Oregon Vintage Motorcyclists. He also had a passion for art and music, and played many instruments.

His career was spent focused on fire service, but best known for a specialty in fire prevention. Over the years, he was a firefighter with the US Forest Service and started out as a firefighter with the Oregon Department of Forestry, later becoming the dispatch supervisor, and eventually transferred to Central Point as their Fire Prevention Specialist. In that time, he also served on the committee that developed the first 911 system in Josephine County, served as president of the Rogue Valley Fire Prevention Cooperative, and finally retired from Jackson County Fire District 3 as their program coordinator. Dennis could be seen on the local news, updating the community regarding fire season during his time as a Public Information Officer. One of his greatest career achievements was in 2005, when Dennis won a National Silver Smokey award for his work in Fire Prevention across the Rogue Valley. 

 Dennis is survived by his wife of 48 years, Diane, his daughter Holly Turco Schuler (Kevin), two grandchildren, Gavin and Phoenix Schuler, and a sister, Eileen Medici.