Steve, thank you for posting, though this is not something you want to do.
It is a very sad day, indeed, to hear of this news. Before I ever spoke with Joel I knew of his reputation of being a no-nonsense guy and such, but I can attest to the fact that he was always extremely nice to me. It was easy to feel intimidated by a living legend but he always made me feel at ease. As I told Joel, even though I was a very unlikely next-torch bearer, I told him I hoped to continue our relationship long past our “deal” since that relationship meant a great deal to me.
It is the relationships in our lives that matter more to us than anything, and knowing Joel has been a blessing I will always be thankful for. There is much that can and should be said about Joel, but it is one of the joys of my life that I can say I knew him, and I believe I did and do.
I will certainly be adding Joel to the list of folks I pray for daily. And not only him but Judith and their kids and grandkids as well.
-Kasey
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