Joseph (Joe) Gela was born on 1947-08-08 to a Ukrainian family in Przemysl, Poland. He was married to Yvonne for 35 years until his death on March 9, 2022. He was predeceased by his father Bogdan Gela and mother Stefania, and is survived by younger brother, George (wife Joanne). He emigrated with his family from Poland to Canada in 1965 and settled in Toronto.

He attended the Technical Highschool – Mechanical Division in Przemysl, Poland, the Siena College in Toronto, Canada, and the York University in Toronto, Canada.

His passions included cars and car rallies, traveling and sailing, and restoring vintage tube-type radios.
He participated in 1975 in the cross-country rally race in Poland and was a member the Maple Leaf Rally Club, the Porsche Club of America, the Polish Canadian Sailing Club, and the Ontario Vintage Radio Association.

He launched his sailing career with his wife Yvonne some 30 years ago on Georgian Bay, Canada. Joe was the co-founder of the Polish Club White Sail in Toronto, where his wife Yvonne served as the first Secretary of the club. Joe and Yvonne sailed from Florida to Cuba, Bahamas, and Dominican Republic. In 2008, Joe and Yvonne sailed the Pacific for two months to Fiji and Australia. Their last excursion in 2019 with members of the Sailing Club took them to Greece.

Upon retiring from sailing, Joe concentrated on restoring vintage tube-type British radios, of which he has more than 15 different models in his collection. He was acquiring parts and restoring a radio until a few days before departing on his Final Voyage. He passed away in early morning on Wednesday, March 9, 2022 surrounded by his loving wife and brother and sister-in-law. He will be greatly missed by his loving wife, by his brother and wife and their children and grandchildren, first and second cousins with their families, and his close friends and colleagues.

May he rest in peace under favourable winds.

Βiчная Пам’ять. Vichnaya Pam’iat’.

In lieu of flowers, please consider supporting the refugees from Ukraine.