Donald R. Joseph – 50th Reunion Essay

Donald R. Joseph

PO Box 1993 | 5000 Gasparilla Rd VH 26

Boca Grande, FL 33921

donrobjo@gmail.com

941-662-6487

Spouse(s): Synthia Joseph (49 years as of 2018)

Child(ren): Abigayil (1974), Nora (1976), James (1978)

Grandchild(ren): Aubriah (2008), Dani (2010), Samara (2012), Eliana (2014)

Career: Joseph Development Co.

Avocations: cycling, fishing, mentoring, reading

College: Branford

Twenty years ago, when our three children were old enough, we took them to Malaysia where Synthia and I had lived for two and a half years during our Peace Corps service. We showed them the village we lived in and later after staying in an especially disgusting hotel, we made our way to Taman Negara, a National Park in Malaysia encompassing perhaps the oldest known rainforest. We wanted our children to understand that life can be exciting if you open yourself up to adventure. We wanted them to understand that people who didn’t have the material possessions that we had in Chicago could have rich and fulfilling lives.

My first post Peace Corps job was in Omaha with the Union Pacific Railroad. Taking a pass on graduate school, Synthia and I were driving to Boulder with the thought of living there. Hearing of a job opening in Omaha, we stopped, my boss saw the undergraduate degree from Yale and we spent the next two years in Omaha until we returned to Chicago to start a lifelong business with my brother Larry in commercial real estate. I understood that my degree from Yale actually meant something.

My roommates Mac and Nick attended two of our children’s weddings. I can remember talking about Judaism with Mac’s youngest at our daughter Abigayil’s wedding and the three of us sharing a drink during our son’s rehearsal dinner. Nick counseled me when my brother Larry at age 59, terminal with pancreatic cancer, was thinking about giving up. I stopped at Mac and Elsie’s in Charlottesville on my way back north and cried at their kitchen table. Not very long after our son’s marriage our precious Angela succumbed to cancer. Our classmate Terry Light mentored our middle child, Nora, and helped her into her white coat as she began her medical career. I understood that friends are there when it counts.

It took me a while to understand that a person doesn’t have to be super smart to do things well and be successful. It’s not how quick you get there that matters. I hope I have conveyed to our children and grandchildren that hard work and integrity are what’s important.

I’ve been mentoring boys for many years. I was with J from third grade through high school. He couldn’t pass algebra. He just didn’t get it. I understood, he needed a hug more than anything else even though he towered over me. D didn’t like his father speaking Spanish to him. I told him his father was right; it was his heritage. I made a deal with him. He brings me a new Spanish word each session because my Spanish is pathetic and then he can play a game on my iPad. I understand that small changes can make a difference.

Synthia and I will also be celebrating our 50th anniversary next year. I understand how fortunate I am to have had such a good run.