Joel V. Soule

Joel VanGelder Soule born on September 1, 1937, passed away November 30, 2022. Son, brother, husband, father, grandfather. Player of trombone, teller of puns, knower of history, lover of maps. Respected litigator. Lifelong Tigers fan. Hockey nut. Generous to a fault. Joel was born in Detroit, Michigan to Geraldine and Roy Soule. His early years were blessed and then bereft of his beloved younger brother, David, and interspersed with adventures around the Motor City. The family settled in Northville when Joel was in junior high, and there he ran a paper route, joined the band, and made lifelong friends. The first in his family to graduate high school and attend college, he earned a bachelor’s degree in music education from Wayne State University, where he met the love of his life, a talented green-eyed clarinetist named Betty. She directed bands and choirs after graduation while Joel taught junior high math and science, bringing his students outside on the lawn to emulate planetary distances. While teaching he set his eyes upon another instrument–the law. Never one to overthink a matter, he sat for the entrance exam after paging through the test booklet and found himself at University of Michigan Law School soon after. They wed, and he passed the bar and began practicing with Allaben, Massie, VanderWeyden, and Timmer in Grand Rapids. By 1972 he had established himself in private practice, sometimes working with partners and associates, and always seeking that courtroom thrill. Even so, he thoughtfully advised clients and offered frequent counsel that, “I’d rather you had a good life than a good lawsuit.” At home he held court at the kitchen table, challenged his four children to grapple with the concept of justice, and encouraged them to pursue it on behalf of others. Joel is survived by his wife, Elizabeth; children, Nancy Soule, Matthew Soule, Mary Geidner (James), and Carole McCammon (Martin); five grandchildren, Maggie, Andrew, Josephine, Ethan, and Lucy; sister-in-law, Theresa Pankas (Emory), nieces, nephews, cousins, and the holdouts of the Northville class of 1955. He was much loved and is greatly missed. Visitation will be held from 2-6 PM on Monday, December 5, 2022, at O’Brien-Eggebeen-Gerst Chapel, 3980 Cascade Road SE, Grand Rapids, MI 49546. Funeral Services will take place at 11 AM, on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, at the funeral home, with visitation one hour prior. Msgr. Ernie Schnieder officiating. Interment at Rural Hill Cemetery, Northville, Michigan.