Joe Powell, who founded a large IT power and cooling company, dies at 82

Even as a child, Joe Powell was ambitious and accomplished. He delivered papers in his hometown of Greenfield, Illinois. He was the quarterback of the high school football team and the class valedictorian who married his sweetheart, Sandy, after they both graduated.

His academic scholarship took them to Champaign-Urbana, where Joe earned an engineering degree from the University of Illinois. It was no surprise to his family and high school friends that he would found and grow one of the Southeast’s biggest companies offering mechanical and electrical support to information technology businesses. And that he would have such joy in his work.

“He loved mentoring young engineers and salespeople,” said daughter-in-law Stephanie Powell, who works in the family company. “He was really the face of the business. There’s a hole in our hearts today.”

The son of Joseph and Joan Powell, James Joseph Powell, 82, died of a heart problem June 15, surrounded by his family. He was born on Feb. 29, 1944, in St. Louis and grew up in Greenfield a farming community south of Springfield.

After earning an engineering degree, Powell and his family — Sandy and baby Jeff — moved to Dallas, Texas, and he worked for a civil engineering firm.

In 1968, ITT Nesbitt recruited Powell to Atlanta to be a rep for their line of cooling systems for computer mainframes. In 1971, he started his own business, Joe Powell and Associates, as a sales organization. He went on to represent what is now Vertiv Corp., with products for infrastructure power and cooling. The company now has seven offices that support customers across the Southeast.

When he wasn’t working, Powell enjoyed being on the water. He would spend all day on Lake Lanier with his three sons when they were little. In the early 1980s, Powell and a friend purchased a house in Orange Beach, Alabama. Ten years later, he bought a house on Lake Lanier and spent hours in the water and being on the back porch, watching the lake.

Throughout their lives, Sandy and Joe were close to their neighbors in Cedar Creek, a subdivision off Killian Hill Road in Gwinnett, Stephanie Powell said. They bought a house there when they came to Atlanta in the 1970s. Even after they moved to south Forsyth County in 1997, the Powells and their former neighbors got together on holidays, for monthly dinners and the annual Christmas luncheon at Greenfield Farm, where Powell raised Tennessee Walking Horses.

He was constantly learning and improving himself. He studied equestrian husbandry with his horses. He played competitive tennis, he learned to paint landscapes and practiced until he became an accomplished pianist, his family says.

His son, Chad Powell, now owns Joe Powell and Associates.

Joe and Sandy Powell went on cruises, but what he loved best was being with his sons and their families on the farm, at the beach or on the lake. Instead of eating at fancy restaurants, he preferred one of Sandy’s signature meals, shared with his family. Chad Powell says his father modeled what it meant to be a good husband. Joe and Sandy were married for 64 years.

In addition to his wife, Sandy, daughter-in-law Stephanie and son Chad, Joe Powell is survived by his sister, Jennifer Hopper; sons Jeff Powell (Holley) and Zach Powell (Elizabeth); seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.