566 THE ADVOCATE
VOL. 79 PART 4 JULY 2021
Lawson Lundell till the day he retired. Despite the fact that I possibly wore
a tie in the shower during law school and we often had different views on
politics or, frankly, just about anything, he had a big enough heart to let me
be his friend. He taught me a thing or two over coffee about life and the law,
but mainly about life, and I am so much better for it, as are all of us who
had the privilege of knowing Walter and being part of his embrace. At his
funeral, Walter’s son Adam said that he hoped he could live up to the standards
set by his dad. We should all aspire to those heights.
Rob Sider, Q.C.
Joseph J. Arvay, O.C., O.B.C., Q.C.
Courage is a word that tempts us to think outwardly, to
run bravely against opposing fire, to do something under
besieging circumstance, and perhaps, above all, to be
seen to do it in public, to show courage; to be celebrated
in story, rewarded with medals, given the accolade, but
a look at its linguistic origins is to look in a more interior
direction and toward its original template, the old Norman
French, Coeur, or heart.
Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another,
with a community, a work; a future … – David Whyte
We lost a champion, a favourite character of the bar and a loved one to so
many with the passing of Joe Arvay on December 7, 2020.
Joe began his heartfelt participation in life in Welland, Ontario in a family
with Hungarian and Italian roots. When speaking of his boyhood, Joe
recalled fondly being made by his parents to perform duets on the piano
with his twin sister. He would later put his parents’ boasting to good use,
travelling around and playing piano in bars to earn money before he went
off to law school.
His first law degree was from Western University, and he obtained his master
of laws degree from Harvard University in 1975. He returned to Ontario
and taught law at the University of Windsor until 1981. He loved to teach, and