Joel passed away on December 26, 2019, at the age of 73 after a two year battle with lung cancer. I knew Joel since our days at Francis Lewis High School and when we arrived together as freshmen at Queens College, we joined House of Bamboo together during the fall 1963 with a bunch of other high school friends. Joel grew up in Electchester across from Queens College, and by the time Joel joined House of Bamboo, he was already an accomplished drum player and then became a master at the recorder.

Before we had a Bamboo House, we had mixers at the houses of members, as well as those of members of the female house plans. There was a certain romanticism surrounding these homebred mixers, because we never knew where we would end up on a Friday night. At one of our early mixers, Joel met his future wife, Karen Waltzer, a member of La Petite Maison, who was hosting at her house that night. I always remembered that night, since her beautiful basement finished by her father was featured in “Popular Mechanics” with the story and photos framed on the walls. Naturally, her father explained the whole project to me. Several years later, I attended their wedding, and they were married for more than 50 years.

Joel graduated from Queens College as a math teacher, and went on to achieve a master’s degree and further graduate work in a advanced mathematics. He taught math for more than 30 years at Richmond Hill High School, along with his wife Karen, and became the specialist responsible for teaching advanced placement calculus. Joel also taught math at colleges and private schools. Joel was always a person ready to help others and I remember when I was disabled from a traumatic car accident in 1970, for two months he picked up my wife to drive her to work.

Joel and Karen raised a family in Plainview, Long Island, and he is survived by two daughters, Jodi Baum and her husband Lee, and Amy Bird and her husband Mat, and four grandchildren, Max, Jesse, Evan, and Samantha. In recent years they acquired a second home in Delray Beach, Florida, and moved to Seasons at Elwood, in East Northport, Long Island, an over 55 community.

by Mike Solomon

Joel was looking forward to attending the February get-together in Florida and had already paid for it.