Read the introductory festschrift article here.
I am Daniel Freedman, one of Joe’s high school classmates from Montreal.
Even back then, we all knew Joe was destined for great things. He was always the star: star athlete, star student — and always the smartest and most charming guy in the room.
I remember debating Nixon’s impeachment — and just about everything else — with Joe. Our views couldn’t have been further apart, but he was always respectful. He made his points sharply, but usually with a smile on his face.
Joe was known as “Asch the Flash” due to his running prowess. I can’t recall if he ran for the school; most likely he got into a fight with the coach and didn’t. His mother was a skier who went to the Olympics. His father was an entrepreneur ahead of his time with bottled water business.
Amazingly, Joe somehow managed to graduate from high school a year early, which was supposed to be impossible at a public school. No one was more more amazed that the Principal who, as Joe crossed the stage, hissed: “What the hell are you doing here? You don’t graduate until next year.”
Joe just smiled, collected his diploma, and gave a theatrical bow to rapturous applause. It had all been perfectly choreographed.
His partner-in-crime had been a guidance counsellor who, no doubt through sheer coincidence, somehow ended with a job at Dartmouth years later.
One classmate recalls a 1972 school trip to France. On the train from Paris to the South of France, Joe noticed some kids not eating their box lunches. He collected the lunches and promptly sold them to other students, pocketing over $100 in the process. It was a huge amount of money back then.
Other classmates recall his “unique brilliance” and his kindness and his passion.
We are all very sad.
Addendum: If you’d like to contribute a memory or nominate your favourite article written by Joe, e-mail us at dartblog.news@gmail.com. We’d love to hear from you!
