Joel Katz

KATZ, Joel Of Fort Myers, FL formerly of Newton and Brookline, on Jan. 25, 2010 at 81. He is survived by Emily (Katz) Stanley of Sugarloaf Key, FL, Evan Katz and his wife Elizabeth Smith and grandsons Samuel Katz and Nathaniel Katz all of Groton, MA. He was the devoted companion of the late Evelyn Lewin of Fort Myers. Joel lived in Dorchester and Roxbury, graduated from Roxbury Memorial High and attended Northeastern University. He worked at the haberdashery Charles and David in North Station, then joined the family-owned Boston Paint and Supply Co. in Allston. He served in the Army National Guard for 15 years. He married Pauline (Feinberg) Katz of Brookline in 1954. They moved to Newton in 1969 to the second of three houses, all of which Joel painstakingly renovated and maintained with craftsman-like care. Joel worked at three distinguished businesses: Samuel J. Bernstein Hair Co.; Edward E. Tower Co., and Charak Furniture Co. In the 1970s he started a custom remodeling business. Inspired by the first energy crisis, he attempted to catch the first wave of interest in solar energy, and installed solar heat in his Newton home. He converted the entire south facing side of the house into a huge solar panel, and installed a room full of heat-storing cells in his basement. In 1983, he bought Wilhelm Electric Co. in Tampa, FL but soon turned to volunteerism. He served with the Peace Corps in Cameroon and taught high school English. He worked with handicapped students and was recognized by the Cameroon Deaf Empowerment Organization. Next was Mali, with the drinking well program, then Togo and Jamaica, where he built a school. As a non-traditional Peace Corps volunteer, Joel mentored younger colleagues. His guidance had such an impact on one volunteer that she named her first son after him. Joel also helped a former student emigrate to America, so the student could obtain American citizenship and teach college math here. In Fort Myers, Joel was honored by many Lee County groups: WGCU-WMKO Radio Reading Service for reading newspapers to the blind; Literacy Volunteers of Lee County, for teaching English to non-native speakers; Lee County Teachers of English for service at Fort Myers High School. At the time of his passing, Joel was working six mornings a week at the Fort Myers Central Avenue branch of the Lee County Library System. Memorial donations may be made to http://www. peacecorps.gov. Click "Donate Now" and type "Cameroon" in the search box. Suggested donations are Resource Books for Local English Teachers or the Primary School Construction. A service will be held on Saturday, March 13 at 5 p.m. at the Calusa Nature Center School in Fort Myers, FL. Arrangements for a Boston service are incomplete