Absent from the body, present with the Lord.

Passed away peacefully at Credit Valley Hospital after a courageous battle with cancer, his loving wife Amgad at his side.
Joe entered into Gods kingdom, where his amazing passion for gardening will continue.

A tree will be planted with a plaque in his name, at the Lake Wabukayne Butterfly Garden.

If desired, memorial donations may be made to The Canadian Cancer Society.

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Eulogy by Mark Ibrahim
My name is Mark Ibrahim and I am Amgad’s Son.

On behalf of my Mother and our entire Family, it is heartwarming to see so many friends and loved ones here to celebrate Joe’s life. We encourage each and every one of you to continue sharing your memories and special moments with our family, it is the only way that Joe can remain alive in our hearts.

Joe was a Husband, Father, Grandfather, Great Grandfather, Uncle and dear friend, we will miss him very much and for all of us, today is just the beginning of a difficult journey ahead.

Joes passing reminds us that our time in this life is brief and that we should live each day with love in our hearts. We must do our best to take the sadness we feel and turn it into the love and gratitude we must have for our family and our dear friends. I know this for sure because I know that Joe always surrounded himself with family and dear friends. He consistently had long, very long relationships with people and this was a testament to who he was.

I met Joe 33 years ago when I was 18 years old.

I remember my Mother telling me that she wanted me to meet someone very special, very different and very important to her. I asked my Mom what made Joe unique and I remember her telling me that Joe reminded her of her own Father, quite, self assured, wise.

I recall shaking his hand and noticing his quite confidence, his shyness, and at the same time his warmth. Yes, his warmth. That was one of the many unique qualities that Joe had because we all know that Joe could make you feel warm or make you feel cold without saying a single word. He had such a unique gaze.

I appreciated that first time we met; Joe did not try to be my best friend or my father or anything other than who he was. Joe was Joe and if you liked him, great and if you didn’t like him, that’s ok too, that was Joe, however who couldn’t like Joe. He was interesting, you could talk to him about anything, politics, cooking, gardening, world events, history, he seem to know a lot about a lot of different things and that is what made Joe who he was. He had a strong perspective on things but Joe could talk to anyone about anything for hours. I spent hours talking to Joe about anything and everything and he always made me feel that even though he knew more than I did about most of the subjects we talked about, he never made me feel that my opinion or knowledge didn’t matter. I think this was a real gift that Joe gave to each and every one of us.

In the 33 years that I knew Joe, he was the same man throughout our relationship. He never pretended to be someone that he wasn’t, he never said anything that he didn’t mean and he never did anything that he didn’t want to (although I am sure my Mother asked him to do a few things that he didn’t like). Joe was a real authentic person, nothing about Joe was an act, he was who he was, like it or leave it and all of us liked it because that was Joe and we loved him for who he was.

All of us lost a lot more than our Joe today since Joe represented so much to each of us in different ways.

Susan, Barbara, Roberta, you didn’t just lose your Father, you lost the first man you ever loved and I know he loved you so very much.

James, Gregory, Robert, Mary, Lucas, Maurizio and Isabella, Benjamin, Charlotte and George, you not only lost your Grandfather and Great Grandfather, you lost a great admirer. All of us could see the pride in Joe’s eyes when he looked at each and every one of you.

Jimmy, you not only lost your Uncle, you lost your best friend, your confidant, your councilor. Joe loved talking to you for hours and I know he was very proud of you as his Nephew.

Mom, you not only lost your Husband, you lost your best friend, your soul mate, your partner. I know how much you loved Joe and how committed you were to him.

For the rest of us, we lost someone that was very important in our lives, we will miss him dearly but we will always have the memories that he left in our hearts.

When we think about Joe and the fact that he was a man of few words I think that all of us can relate to the fact that Joe and only Joe had a way of expressing himself without saying a single word:

A touch that told you, I will take care of you.
A nod of the head that expressed, I respect you.
An embrace that said I love you.
A laugh that said, I am connected to you.

All of us felt these emotions with Joe.


When my Children were young, I would read Dr. Zeus to them and I remember one of the famous quotes that read “don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened”.

I know all of us will smile when we think of Joe because Joe happened in our lives and he made all of us grateful for our time with him.

We love you Joe, we will miss you forever!
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Eulogy by Nicky Hall (Close Family Friend)

I met Amgad and Joe through the Streetsville Horticultural Society four years ago and in 2013 Joe’s garden was on the summer tour.

As I walked around the garden I was amazed by what I was seeing. I hadn't seen trees grown in the Espalier way since visiting old estate homes in England and they had an army of gardener to tend them.

Espalier is the horticultural art and agricultural way of growing woody plants into flat plains and formal patterns. The appeal of espalier lies in both its ascetics and functionality
This allows for minimal space needed in the garden to grow large numbers of fruit trees

It was an ancient Roman practice becoming popular in the middle ages.
A monk named Father Legendre wrote a book in 1684 after he had
successfully mastered the art. Father Legendre was entrusted with the important job of providing food for the monastery. Of course this meant growing it.

Some of his discoveries where made out of sheer need.
He found that the trees he planted close to monastery walls grew more fruit and produced fruit for longer as they were more protected from the frost and winds and also benefitted from the heat given off from the bricks.

At age six, Joe started at the Royal Botanical Gardens with a small garden plot through his school.
That was the beginning of his 71 years of passionate gardening.


Joe was self taught and was a master espalier grower.
His garden had 6 espalier trees spanning 30 feet to welcome you into his magical garden, 8 boasting wonderful creative patterns other than the traditional " t". Joe grew Sweet Cherry Espalier trees spanning 20 feet,
an Espalier apple tree which he grafted 12 different varieties, some I had never heard of or seen.
One Espalier tree grown in an ornamental shape, greeted you as you arrived at the house. This tree was grafted to grow 2 different apple varieties. The last apples to ripen were called winter Banana! He also grew pear espalier trees against the house wall, grafted to produce 13 different types. He also grew Nectarines, quince, Saskatoon berries, peach, plums, grapes, figs, gooseberry and strawberry plants.

Joe wasn't one to grow as many varieties of blooming flowers.
Most that he did to grow had a purpose. The Echinacea seeds provided nectar for butterflies and the seed for the birds at the end of the season. Other flowers provided food for the many varieties of bees he welcomed to pollinate his garden. Joe built homes for them to lay pupae, protecting them until they to hatch in the spring.
He grew herbs for his culinary use, which also provided food for caterpillars to eat before they turned into pupae and then emerging as a butterfly.
Everything was grown for a reason
Joe's garden was a haven for beneficial insects and wildlife.

16 months ago when Joe became sick, I knew he was unable to take care of his garden by giving it the time it needed to maintain its beauty. I offered to help. I know Joe was a little skeptical of my talents and of course reluctant to let someone work on his masterpiece.

His battle with cancer took away so much of his energy that he could not do the physical work.
When he was well enough to walk around he would take me out into the garden and tell me what needed pruning for each grafted tree. Each variety had different requirements. I had to be a fast learning apprentice.

My biggest challenge was when he told me to remove over half the fruit from the apple and pear trees leaving only two per branch the biggest and best formed. On the grape vines I was told to remove all bunches except eleven. The grapes looked so beautiful I had trouble being doing it. I left sixteen. Joe went to look at my work. There was a long pause as he studied the trees and vines. He was a man of few words but made his points clearly. He simply said ‘Nicky, obviously cannot count!’ I tried to explain that I found it hard to compost all the fruit. He told me my way would produce mediocre size and flavored fruit. He was growing the best!
I took his words to heart and while he was in hospital for 70 days I tended the fruit trees and garden.

In September I entered Joe's apples, pears, tomatoes, garlic, and peppers into the Streetsville Horticultural flower show and he won every category, and his apple got the Best in Show award.



Amgad I just want to honor you.
The word devoted is everything you were to Joe.
You were: Loyal, faithful, staunch, steadfast, constant, devout, loving, caring, true and affectionate. You were Joes devoted wife who stood beside him every step of the way during this difficult 16 months.
While he was in Toronto General Hospital for 70 days you went to be with him every single day. Traveling by car, train and bus. 70 days with not one day off. At times when Joe was in Emergency overnight you stayed by his side sitting on a chair, taking care of his every need. Going home only after he was settled in a room but returning again the next day without a break. You showed him your love and devotion.

One evening in the last week of Joes life, you left the room to change into your night clothes. I was beside Joe. During this stage he rarely opened his eyes but as soon as he was aware you had left his side he became agitated. I told him you would be back in a few minutes and he relaxed again. This was a beautiful bond of trust and love.


On October 4th I went to the hospital say goodbye to Joe.
After I left I drove to his garden to pick the last apples.
As I stood by his garden shed I noticed a Black Swallowtail butterfly come over the fence. It fluttered around and then went up over around the shed. A few seconds later it appeared again and flew over and touch my right shoulder. It then went over to the last of two Echinacea flowers and drunk the nectar. After a few minutes the butterfly flew straight up into the sky. This is not normal for a butterfly; they flutter from one garden to another looking for nectar.
I knew this was Joe checking his garden.