Obituary of Joseph Ouellette

Joseph Philippe Robert Ouellette

April 30 1945 - September 27 2024

After a long and eventful life Joseph (Joe), a man of integrity, passion and generosity, passed away peacefully on September 27th, 2024, at the age of 79. Loving husband of Carol Ouellette (divorced 2007) and the late Paula Ann Bouffard (deceased 2021). Loving father of Sarah (Dylan Cotter), and Phillipe (Meagan). Proud Grandpa of Macdara, Cleo, Layla and Joshua. Joe is survived by his sisters Mary Kay dePeuter (Rene dec.) and Emerita Urquhart (Darcy) and brothers John (Sandy), Peter (Nancy), Girard (Chris), sister-in-law Alison Ouellette, loyal and loving companion (affectionately “partner in crime”) Jo-anne Gignac and numerous nieces and nephews. Predeceased by his brother Paul (deceased 2009). He will also be missed by extended family, friends, and former colleagues. Joseph was a graduate of the Western Ontario Institute of Technology.

After the early passing of their father Earl in 1971, Joe and his brother Paul took control of the family business Acrolab Instrument, Joe focused on sales while Paul managed day to day operations. Throughout the 1980s, Acrolab established a sales office in the Province of Quebec and the introduction of two locally manufactured trademark products, the Isobar heat pipe and the Isoplaten. The company continued to grow over the years and in 1991, Joe assumed the position of President and CEO of Acrolab Ltd. Throughout the 1990s, Acrolab went on to establish Acrolab Polska in Lublin, Poland opening up a manufacturing facility to support sales into the European Union. That same decade, Acrolab became one of the first companies in Windsor to be accredited the ISO 9001 certification and also launched a sister company, Isolab Inc. to provide calibration services to local companies. In the early 2000s, Joe was appointed as the first Executive-in-Residence of the Odette School of Business at the University of Windsor. He was actively involved over the years in the local business community and engaged with the Windsor Economic Development Commission. He championed the initiative with the Polish Canadian Business and Professional Association in the creation and development of the present partnership between Windsor and Lublin resulting in the successful twinning agreement between the two cities in 1999. He also was a co-founder of the Windsor Association of Moldmakers, now the Canadian Association of Moldmakers (CAMM) and served on the Association board for many years. Joe was also a member of The Windsor Club, Pointe West Golf Club and Chevalier (Knight) of the Sovereign Military Order of the Temple of Jerusalem (SMOTJ). Joe was hardworking, honest, and fair. His sense of humour, outgoing personality and the ability to communicate easily with others garnered him respect and admiration from all those he encountered.

Joe was also a strong supporter of the military and veterans, most notably with the local army reserve infantry regiment, The Essex and Kent Scottish. Although he never served in the military, he immediately took to the regiment and participated in many of the regiment’s annual ceremonies and events. Due to his exceptional dedication and support to the soldiers of the regiment, Joe was nominated and appointed to the position of Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel in 2018 and was then appointed to the position of Honorary Colonel in 2022. In his role as Honorary Colonel he orchestrated the launch of Maple Scholar, a program for linking local colleges, the military and employers in recognizing military leadership training into the admissions process for post-secondary education. This initiative focused on helping army reserve junior leaders to benefit from their military training and further their education, while bringing added value to their employers. As Honorary Colonel he was also the primary point of contact with the regiment’s Colonel-in-Chief, HRH Prince Michael of Kent, at Kensington Palace and was the lead host for HRH during the Change of Colours ceremony in May 2023.

Joe was nourished by his faith and attended Mass regularly whenever possible. He thrived helping others and quietly supported various causes, including Street Help, the Downtown Mission, and was instrumental in establishing the St Vincent de Paul Street Outreach program; Joe spent many hours walking the downtown streets talking and providing support to the homeless. Joe treated everyone as a unique and special person, whether they were in a formal setting with dignitaries and business executives or with his employees, students or soldiers from the Regiment, everyone felt that he was genuinely interested in them and their aspirations.

Joe was a sailor, a poet, actor, avid reader, amateur painter and thoroughly enjoyed philosophical discussions related to many topics, especially his faith, history, politics, social issues and business matters. Although very technically minded, he was never short of developing creative ideas and looking out well into the future of what could be and what role he could play in making it a reality. This was true in his business affairs, his involvement with the regiment and most notably with his generous efforts with St Vincent de Paul’s Street Outreach program. On retirement, Joe pursued his love of sailing and spent much of his time on his sail boat (Odissea) in and along the coastal waters of Florida up to Georgia.

Joe’s family and care team would like to thank his dedicated and thoughtful neighbours and the wonderful staff at Windsor Hospice for all of their exceptional care and support. In lieu of flowers donations to the Street Outreach, Special Works program with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul or Windsor Hospice would be appreciated. Visitation will take place at Windsor Chapel - Banwell in East Windsor (11677 Tecumseh Rd. East 519-253-7235) on Thursday, October 3rd, 2024 from 2-5 pm and 7-9 pm with prayers at 4:30 pm. A funeral mass will be held at St. John Vianney Church in Windsor on Friday, October 4th, 2024 at 10:30 am. Burial to be scheduled at a future date at Heavenly Rest Cemetery. Online condolences and cherished memories may be shared at www.windsorchapel.com

Forever loved, he will be sadly missed.