Commander Talago was born in 1925 in a coal mining camp owned by McCandlish Mines at Meadowbrook WV. In 1932, his family moved to near Bridgeport WV where they operated a roadside business. In 1943, he enlisted into the Navy V12 College Training program. In 1946, he graduated and was commissioned and ordered to sea duty. He served on a destroyer and four submarines, and his last sea duty was commanding officer of the Submarine USS Raton (SSS270). He received engineering degrees from Kansas University and MIT while in the Navy. He also received an MBA from George Washington University.

Following his retirement in 1965 he worked for TRW as an engineer, then as a stock broker for Merrill Lynch, and finally as a financial manager for the American Gas Association. He retired in 1982, moved to Scrabble, WV where he built a home and operated a small nursery. He restored a house in Shepherdstown and also built his final home there.

His wife of 60 Years, Shirley Ann, died in 2012. They also lost a daughter Marie, age 19, in 1976 and a son, Anthony, age 28, in 1989. Surviving are sons Joseph III of Roseville MN and Daniel of Columbia Falls, MT, and daughters Kristin with husband Cleve Thompson of Shepherdstown, WV and Anna of Saint Cloud, FL. His granddaughter LeAnn Loccisano lives in Hust, TX.

He also has two brothers, Paul of Center Valley, PA and Stanley of Flemington, WV.

A Memorial Mass will be held at St. Agnes Catholic Church in Shepherdstown, WV on Saturday, October 20, 2018 at 10:00 a.m. Interment will be private at the Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, a donation may be made to St. Agnes Catholic Church for its Building Fund, or the Shepherdstown Public Library.