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Longtime community volunteer and champion Paul Truex always wanted to do the right thing

Rotary Club of Guelph past-president and 43-year member passed away on Jan. 22
20210430 Jean and Paul Truex submitted
Paul Truex, right, with is wife Jean. Submitted photo.

Is this the right thing to do? That’s the question it always came down to for Jay “Paul” Truex.

The longtime community volunteer and past-president of the Rotary Club of Guelph passed away at Hospice Wellington on Jan. 22, surrounded by family as his favourite Disney music played softly in the background.

“He was a great dad to all of us, great husband, great family guy. Family was important to him,” said one of his sons, Paul Francis Truex. “He was a bigger than life, giant sort of soul.”

Truex was born in New Jersey during 1938. He enlisted in the United States Air Force in 1957 and competed on its men’s tennis team before beginning his career with Johnson & Johnson in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

He and family lived in Montreal for a while before settling in Guelph in 1978. Truex worked as vice-president of human resources at Guelph’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, until his retirement in 2000.

He was approaching his 84th birthday at the time of his death.

During his off-time, Truex was well-known for taking on volunteer duties to help out others, near and far. He was a member of the Rotary Club of Guelph for 43 years, serving as club president in 1987-1988 and district governor in 2001-2002.

“We tried to tally up all the charities that dad had been involved in – it’s over 100, easily, throughout his time in Guelph,” Paul Francis said. “All of that would have been catelized through his time at Guelph Rotary.”

Truex lived the rotary motto of service above self in his life every day, Paul Francis noted, explaining major decisions came down to the four-way test of “Is it the truth?” “Is it fair to all concerned?” “Does it build friendships?” and “Does it make people stronger within the community?”

“This four-way test is really how we were really brought up,” Paul Francis said. “He was constantly filtering through decisions and distilling it all down to 'Is it the right thing to do?' That was my dad.”

During Truex’s final days at Hospice Wellington, Paul Francis read him 200 or more messages from friends, colleagues and others who wanted to reach out and share how he’d impacted their lives.

“Woven all the way through that was that message of ‘your dad was always focused on are we doing good by the community … and therefore is it the right thing to do?’” he recalls, adding the other common comment was that Truex had encouraged them to follow their dreams.

“He was great at saying to people exactly what they needed to hear, that they may have known about themselves but that they needed to hear somebody say to them,” Paul Francis said, using the example of him wanting to pursue a career in the United States, which he has done. “He’d say, ‘You really need to go chase that dream, go and pursue that because if you don’t, you’ll always regret it.’”

Among those who Truex encouraged to step up is Mahmud Hassain, current Rotary Club of Guelph president.

“He’s a mentor extraordinaire,” Hassain said, adding Truex urged him to complete his masters degree as well seek the club’s top spot. “He’s a fantastic man. I will miss him.”

Coun. Leanne Caron worked with Truex during his tenure as president of the Career Education Council during the early 2000s.

“He has been an exemplary citizen of Guelph,” she said. “I was immediately impressed by his dedication to furthering the careers of young people and community service.”

Truex was known for using his community contacts and business knowledge to help young people find their way, Caron added.

“He went above and beyond in that role.”

A longtime teacher in the Upper Grand District School Board, Jeanette Truex, known to many as “Mz. T,” passed away last April.

“It’s tragic to actually be talking about my parents close together,” said Paul Francis, who has a brother, John, and sister, Torii.

Being at Disney World brought back memories of childhood for Truex, who made the voyage to Florida nearly every year – sometimes multiple times in a year – to take in the rides and activities.

“My dad was a child at heart when he got to Disney World,” Paul Francis said. “He would sing the songs, he would frolic through the park, he would wait for the parade. He got a chance to be a kid when he was there, even in his later years. The last time I went there with him, he was in his 70s.

“There was something about Disney that allowed my dad to let his guard down and be a kid.”


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Richard Vivian

About the Author: Richard Vivian

Richard Vivian is an award-winning journalist and longtime Guelph resident. He joined the GuelphToday team as assistant editor in 2020, largely covering municipal matters and general assignment duties
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