It is not often that one says "he left us too soon" for a man of 95 years of age. But in the case of Joel Sourkes, that is quite accurate.
Joel was a remarkable man whom I met on a number of occasions during my eight years as a city councillor via his association with the Cote Saint-Luc Senior Men's Club. He died suddenly on January 2, leaving his wife of an incredible 71 years Rose (pictured with him below), one daughter (his son passed away in recent years), the grandfather of four and the great-grandather of seven. He was predeceased by three sisters.
Joel served for four-and-a-half years as a Sergeant Major in the Canadian Air Force during World War II and worked for over 40 years in the importing trade. After retirement, he joined the Men's Club where, for the past 20 years, he led their current events discussion group.
Côte Saint-Luc has indeed lost a very special individual.