Joseph PILZ

With sadness the family announces the passing of Joseph Pilz on Thursday, January 5, 2023 at the age of 89. Josef "Joe" was born in Germany and moved to Kitchener, Ontario in 1964 with his wife Christine, where he worked as an auto mechanic at Crosby Volkswagen, Wegler Automotive and at Gascho Motors. In 1967, Joe and his family purchased land in Sauble Beach, Ontario where he developed the land into a full service seasonal family campground, done all by hand with a lot of hard work and dedication, a vision of a place where people could vacation and yet feel at home, all while he continued to work as an auto mechanic weekdays and raising a young family.
In 1984, Joe moved permanently to the campground where he could enjoy the friendships he'd made and be surrounded by nature, which he enjoyed so much. An avid fisherman who loved to go downrigging with his fishing buddies. Joe and Christine sold the campground in 2004 to retire in Sauble Beach where his love of nature focused on feeding peanuts to the blue jays on the porch and ensuring the deer that frequented the back yard had plenty of apples to eat. He also became an amazing gardener, who took joy in harvesting bushels of tomatoes and cucumbers from his backyard garden to donate to the food bank in Owen Sound. Joe's love of Chess also kept him busy in his spare time, often boasting of his winning streak against the computerized chess game "Chess Titans" which his grandsons often had to reinstall for him when updates ousted the older, outdated version of Chess from the computer. When he wasn't playing Chess, Joe was helping everyone with things that needed fixing and could be counted on for advice and assistance with house, auto or other repairs requiring the problem solving skills and the knowledge that he held. All you had to do was mention it and he would be happy to take on the challenge and help out. Joe is survived by his wife of 63 years, Christine, his son Michael Pilz and his wife Christine, his daughter Claudia Brown and her husband Ian, and grandchildren Candace, Wesley, Heidi, Jakob, Liam and Robert. Joe was loved by all his family and friends for his stories and his wisdom, his humour and his direction, his never ending love and support. He will forever inspire and be the role model of how to live one's life fully and joyfully. Joe made his family his priority and reminded us to "Be good to each other, respect each other and love your family, because without family, you have nothing". Joe's family will receive relatives and friends from 3 to 6 p.m. on Saturday, January 14, 2023 at the Henry Walser Funeral Home, 507 Frederick Street, Kitchener, 519-749-8467. As expressions of sympathy, donations to the Grand River Hospital Foundation - Cancer Centre or the Grand River Hospital Foundation - Freeport Palliative Care would be appreciated by the family (cards available at the funeral home).

Visit www.henrywalser.com for Joe's memorial.