USA Rice extends condolences to the family and friends of Joe Aguzzi, who passed away on July 23, at the age of 99.
The Aguzzis have farmed the same land in Bolivar County for more than 100 years, but their family farming legacy began with Joe’s grandfather who immigrated from Italy in 1895, first to Arkansas and then to the Delta region where he bought acreage in the early 1900s.
Joe grew up in Cleveland, Mississippi, and soon after graduating from Cleveland High School, he was drafted and became an infantry scout in World War II. He earned a Purple Heart before returning to the family farm, where he and his brother, Victor Aguzzi, Sr., began farming cotton, eventually adding a second full-time crop – rice. They grew their farm into a multigenerational enterprise, working with sons, nephews, grandsons, and great-grandsons. Joe continued to oversee operations at Aguzzi Farms and even drove a tractor pulling levees this year just as he had done since his first rice crop in 1954.
”Joe was a true leader in our rice community and we always looked to him and his family to see how they did things,” said Randy Ouzts of Nutrien Ag Solutions who hailed from his hometown. “He was a truly generous man always willing to help anyone in need and he will be missed.”
In an official tribute to Joe that appeared in the Congressional Record last month, U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith said: “At 99 years young, Joe continues to stand as a towering figure, not just in the field, but as a legacy for his family and the Mississippi farming community. From guiding a mule across his family's fields as a youth to embracing precision agriculture in his golden years, Joe Aguzzi's journey reflects a rare combination of tradition and entrepreneurship.
As the grandson of Italian immigrants who came to the Mississippi Delta seeking opportunity, Joe built a legacy that honors their sacrifice and uplifts the generations that follow.”
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Our Lady of Victories Catholic Church, 215 Bishop Road, Cleveland, MS 38732, or a charity of your choice.