A Celebration of Life for Joseph G. Charest of Carlsbad will take place 1-4 pm Saturday, Aug. 17, at Seaside Center, 1613 Lake Dr., Encinitas.

Joe, who said he had “a long and largely happy life,” was born Aug. 19, 1946, and died July 27, 2024. He was raised in the Detroit area; studied for the Catholic priesthood before graduating from the University of Detroit; served in the Army for two years, including a year in Vietnam; and graduated from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara, after moving to California in 1972.

With a career that started in journalism and weaved for a short time through professional photography, including as official photographer for the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings, Joe spent most of a long, 35-year career in public relations and public outreach work, including working to reinstate the San Diego Symphony in the late 1980s-1990s. He served as an executive with Burson-Marsteller in Los Angeles and San Diego’s Gable Group and Katz & Associates, the latter from which he retired.

Joe looked back with great fondness on the many professionals he worked with, saying “nothing exceeds the rewards of mentoring and working together to accomplish things that matter.”

A 30-year marriage to Karen Cavanaugh Charest included two sons, Patrick of Escondido and Michael of Carlsbad. Joe’s “second half” saw many life changes but happily included a sweet daughter-in-law, Louanne Capuano Charest, and three energetic grandsons, Cameron, Preston, and Hudson.

Besides those above, Joe is survived by his sister, Elaine Charest Maciorowski of Georgia, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Gerard and Marie Belec Charest; sisters Marietta and Sue; and brother Larry.

Joe loved his family dearly and they loved him. He felt “supremely reward by that love, dwelling at the end (as many people do) on what was most important in life and death.”

If you so wish, please make a donation to the charity of your choice in memory of Joe.

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