“Joe was always there,” he recalled, often spending hours talking with the elder Trudeau about diving and ocean science. Throughout the Trudeau children’s lives, MacInnis was “a presence, a guide, a counsel, a friend” who had a special ability to live in the moment and encouraged those around him to do the same.
“Everyone who has been impacted by Joe knows it, feels it, and is transformed by it,” Trudeau said.
Cameron once again paid tribute to his mentor, noting MacInnis’ listening skills and keen ability to discern the needs of a team working in a high-risk situation like a deep-sea expedition. “Whenever I went into a hard project, I would ask his advice, and I would listen to what he said about the psychological dynamics of the team.”
To commemorate their crowning achievement, the 2012 Deepsea Challenge, Cameron presented MacInnis with a signed block of syntactic foam that travelled to the bottom of the Mariana Trench on DEEPSEA CHALLENGER.
Ultimately, it was MacInnis who had the last word, quipping that “it’s amazing to be present at your own eulogy.”
After thanking his family and friends, who he said have made him “the luckiest guy in the world,” he ended with a final thought that drew enormous laughter and applause: “If I’d known that my heart attack and my stroke would have led to this moment, I would have had them much sooner.”