Joseph "Joe" Leon Piot

PIOT, Joseph “Joe” Leon was born September 23, 1920 and passed away April 6, 2012. He was preceded in death by parents, Lucy Pettersson Piot and Joseph Baptiste Piot and by brothers Orville Piot and Alvin Piot and brothers-in-law Donald Stroh and Anton Pfister. Survived by sister, Mary Pfister of St. Louis Missouri and wife of 61 years, Winifred Clark Piot, daughters Michelene McKinney (Richard), Nicolette Stephens (Tony), Nanette Andrews (Carter), Cecile Gideon (C.J.) and grandchildren Lt. Jackson Stephens, JAG, USN (Dr. Laura D. Stephens), Katherine Lee Almon (Barry), Nelson Carter Andrews III (Achim), Jennifer Andrews, Jayne Stein (David), Walter Andrews (Kristen), Clarence James (Jake) Gideon III, Laura Gideon, Natalie Gideon, Rachel Gideon. Mr. Piot was born in East St. Louis, Illinois to a proud and honorable Depression era family. His first job was a sack boy in a grocery store near his home, and he worked continuously ever since. At sixteen, he was selected for Illinois Volunteer Boy’s State, a tribute to his moral behavior and hard work. He graduated from Central Catholic High School and in 1940 was recruited for the OSS to support the war effort. His many clandestine missions as an OSS officer were classified by the U.S. Government until recently. He married Winifred Clark, the love of his life, in 1950, and the couple made a home in Belleville, Illinois. They moved to Nashville in 1955 so that Joe could begin his long career with Aladdin Industries, Inc, where he was named Export Manager. His adventurous spirit and gregarious personality opened doors for the company and its products around the world. Joe Piot was the consummate ambassador for Nashville and Aladdin. He circumnavigated the globe once every three years. He traveled to England, France, Japan, Brazil, Venezuela, Southeast Asia, Hong Kong, Korea, Columbia and many other countries. His ease with learning languages made it easy for him to make friends and do business. He was self taught in French, Japanese, Farsi, Spanish, and a little Portuguese. After retiring from Aladdin, Joe worked for DiNippon Ink and Chemicals as the Chairman’s lieutenant in charge of the largest corporate takeover in history at that time, the Sun Chemical merger. He went on to head Sun Chemical, Polychrome, and Viam Manufacturing. Over the course of their marriage, Winnie and Joe lived in London, New York City and Newport Beach, California. Joe finally retired from active business to do light consulting and writing in 1990. He wanted to enjoy his family in Nashville. He wrote four books, the last one published three weeks ago, a political thriller that proposes a unique form of government for a Middle Eastern nation to offer peace in that region. His family will remember Joe as generous, bright and fun. He was an attentive and thoughtful spouse, father and grandfather, who implanted in his children and grandchildren a sense of respect for others, for adventure, a love of learning, and the value of education. He was a devout Catholic, a member of the Holy Name Society at Christ the King parish and a faithful member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in later years. The funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, April 10 at 2:00 p.m. at the Cathedral of the Incarnation with Rev. Patrick Kibby serving as Celebrant. Visitation will be held in the Cathedral for one hour before the service. In lieu of flowers contributions may be sent to the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Nashville, TN, or to Christ the King Parish Nashville, TN.