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Jeremiah George Turcotte was born in Detroit, Michigan on January 20, 1933. He attended the University of Michigan, graduating from the Medical School in 1957 with several academic honors. He remained at the University of Michigan for his internship and residency where he was again awarded for his academic achievements. Upon completion of his residency in 1963, Turcotte joined the faculty of the Medical School as an Instructor in Surgery. By 1971, he had become a full professor of surgery and in 1974, he accepted the position of Chairman of the Department of Surgery, a position he held until 1987. He concurrently acted as Head of General Surgery between 1976 and 1981 and often held multiple administrative positions simultaneously during his career. In 2001, Turcotte became a Professor Emeritus of Surgery.

In 1964, Turcotte participated in the first kidney transplant performed at the University of Michigan and transplant surgery eventually became a major focus of his career. He performed the first liver transplant at the University in 1985 and consistently worked with transplantation at the university, directing the Surgery Transplant Program, the Organ Transplantation Center, the Transplant and Health Policy Center, and the Liver Transplant Program during his career. He also published numerous articles and book chapters on the subject, as well as publishing widely on his other research interests, which included portal hypertension and liver disease. Over his career, his work resulted in more than 195 published journal articles, eight books, and 55 book chapters. He presented just as prolifically, and was invited to lecture throughout the U.S. and internationally.

Along with his service in various organizations and centers at the University, Turcotte was also active in numerous national organizations. He was a founding member of the American Society of Transplant Surgeons and the Transplantation Society of Michigan (later the Gift of Life Foundation). He served as president of these societies, as well as the Central Surgical Association, and the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), the Michigan Chapter of the American College of Surgeons. He served in leadership positions for numerous other organizations and societies, as well.

Amid his many other responsibilities, Turcotte took an interest in the history of the Department of Surgery and gathered numerous materials documenting that history, starting as far back as Moses Gunn, the first professor of surgery at the University of Michigan. He later served on the 150th Anniversary Celebration Committee and assisted in creating a book documenting the Department's history.

Turcotte was the recipient of numerous awards and honors throughout his career. He received the Russel Award from the University of Michigan in 1970 and held the Frederick A. Coller Professorship from 1979 to1989. In 2002, not long after his retirement, the updated surgical library was dedicated in his honor. In 2004, he was given the Distinguished Service Award by the University of Michigan Medical Center Alumni Society, and in 2006, the Jeremiah and Claire Turcotte Professorship in Transplantation Surgery was inaugurated. He also received awards from non-University sources, including the Champion of Hope Award from the National Kidney Foundation in 1996 and the ASTS-Roche Pioneer award in 2005.