Joseph Castello, from farmer to real estate
agent - S.J. NATIVE HELPED DEVELOP AREA LAND
Energetic and enterprising, San Jose native Joseph
Castello spent his 94 years in the South Bay, watching
and helping the region transform from fields of crops
to streets with homes.
The first-generation Italian-American died Nov. 8
of complications from Parkinson's disease.
The seeds of Mr. Castello's success were planted
by his father, Orazio Castello, at the turn of the
century. And his success -- and that of his children
-- is a story with echoes throughout the history of
this country.
The elder Castello struck out to America in 1900
from Sicily, seeking to make good. He did. He managed
a San Jose hotel, then bought it, then invested in
farm land in Campbell, upon which he built a cannery,
said Ray Castello, grandson of Orazio and son of Joseph.
By 1911, with a robust business underneath him, Orazio
returned to his homeland. He married and came back
to the States with his bride, her parents, his parents
and all his brothers and sisters.
But only eight years later, the patriarch was felled
during the influenza pandemic. His son, Joseph, was
only 6. But Orazio Castello had left the family on
steady footing.
At 12, Joseph Castello started farming his mother's
land, which was planted with tomatoes, later with
peaches and cherries. He'd walk a mile to borrow a
horse so he could plow the fields, Ray Castello said.
In 1936, Joseph Castello began investing in his own
land. Nine years later, he sank money into the rich
soil of the San Joaquin Valley. And the next year,
he became a real estate agent, melding the twin pursuits
that would build his wealth.
South Bay land was becoming coveted for houses, not
farms. "He assisted a lot of farmers in this
valley in selling their farm land for development,"
Ray Castello said, "and then sold them land in
Stanislaus County and the San Joaquin Valley."
His father's "extreme energy" fueled his
industry, Castello said.
"I think today you'd call him hyperactive,"
he said. "He probably worked all his life from
dawn to dusk, farming and real estate. He never walked
anywhere; everywhere he ran. I could never keep up
with him."
