Joseph “Joe” Warren Boivin, a 45-year corrosion industry veteran and the founder and president of Cormetrics (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), passed away on September 8, 2022. Boivin died at 75 years old after a brief but bravely fought battle with Non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
Boivin leaves behind his wife, Janet “Jan” Elizabeth Boivin, along with two children, four grandchildren, and five siblings. His complete obituary can be read here.
Joe was an entrepreneur who ran his own business, Cormetrics, for more than 34 years. His career took him from northern Alberta to the Middle East in consulting work for the oil industry. Boivin’s areas of expertise included failure analysis; pipeline corrosion modeling and monitoring; corrosion inhibitor and biocide evaluations; microbiological investigations, deposit and fouling studies; water treatment programs; and more.
Boivin was a member of the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE International) and spent much of his career working within the NACE Calgary Section. Between 1980 and 2011, Boivin authored 48 papers for conferences, books, and technical journals. He was a member of 16 Technical Practices Committees, including a stint as the first Chairman of the NACE Task Group TG075 (T-iD-41) for oil industry biocides.
In 2012, Boivin was awarded the organization’s Distinguished Service Award. He retired later that year, with Joe and Jan choosing to spend summers at their cottage in Nova Scotia. They maintained a home in Calgary to be close to family and friends, as well.
After graduating as a Chemical Technologist in 1967 from the Eastern Ontario Institute of Technology, Boivin’s career began in 1968 with Travis Chemicals in Calgary. Over his distinguished career, he worked with organizations such as Magnachem, Caproco (Iran), Pan Technical Industries, BP, Champion, Cite Tech. Ltd., and the University of Calgary.
Joe enjoyed traveling for work and pleasure and visited numerous countries with his wife, Jan, including Costa Rica, Laos, Japan, France and the Netherlands.
Outside of work, Joe had a lifelong love of books and reading, and always had a quick quip to share from a favorite author or poet. He loved a good pun. Always curious, he sought out knowledge and loved to share it with others. In his retirement, he was an active member of the Calgary Association of Lifelong Learners and the public representative of the Animal Care Committee at the University of Calgary.
Joe spoke out about injustices great and small, and encouraged others to engage in making the world a better place. Joe devoured the Globe and Mail daily, keen to keep up with current issues while seeking solutions.
Joe had the biggest, welcoming heart, according to his family, and entertaining was his passion. He was involved in cooking groups, book clubs and numerous other social activities. He enjoyed bike riding, kayaking, fly fishing, skiing, hiking, and hockey—and he was a faithful fan of his hometown Calgary Flames and Stampeders.
For the past 20 years, Joe and Jan spent summers at their cottage on Allens Lake, near Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. It was his place of peace and comfort, and he was able to spend his final days there.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that a donation be made in Joe’s name to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Joseph Warren Boivin: December 28, 1946—September 8, 2022.