Obituary of Joel Guy Arseneault

Joel Guy Arseneault was born in the town of Hawkesbury, Ontario, on February 4, 1956. He was adopted by Guy and Therese Arseneault, who would thereafter be his parents. Though he spent his early childhood in the Northern Ontario town of Smooth Rock Falls, he would later move to Thorold, Ontario. In 1977, he met and married Suzanna Arseneault (née Hawman). Although the two divorced in 2003, they had four children, Leah, Anna, Emily, and Jesse Arseneault, who remained close with both parents until Joel’s death.

Joel was a talented carpenter and convention might have expected him to settle into that profession, but his life was brought far beyond the confines of what was then the small town of Thorold. In 1990, with his then wife Sue and four children, Joel embarked on a nearly decade-long journey to Southern Africa, serving as a missionary in Mozambique during the end of the nation’s civil war, as well as Zimbabwe and Zambia, though his proudest contribution might be his hand-built, two-storey log cabin (the first of its kind, as he told it) that still sits at Maforga Mission, near Gondola, Mozambique.

Although his time in Southern Africa would define his life for many years to come—and leave its imprint on the many lives affected by him there—he spent his happiest years with his girlfriend and partner until his death, Cindy, after he returned to Thorold in 2002.

In 2016, Joel was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), and would succumb to the illness shortly after midnight on June 24, 2017 at Niagara Hospice, surrounded by his children. Despite the ailments that marked his last year, Joel would remain jovial, joking with those close to him until even the day before he died. We—his family—remember this challenge and the resilient calm with which he faced his final days. But we also remember the moments before, those moments that he might like us to remember, of him sitting on the back porch near the garden, in tie dye shirt, sipping on a Molson Canadian, and laughing alongside his family. We are sad to have parted with him, but will continue to feel his mark on our lives in our memories of him. Joel Arseneault is survived by his girlfriend Cindy, his brother Marc, his children, Leah, Anna, Emily, and Jesse, his son Jesse's partner, Bernard Lansbergen, and his daughter Emily’s partner, Dan Brennan."

Please join the family at his Celebration of Life Wednesday, June 28, 2017 between 1 and 3 p.m. at the ‘eco Life Celebration Centre’ at the Unitarian Congregation of Niagara (223 Church Street, St. Catharines, ON L2R 3E8)