"The world is a darker and less interesting place with the passing of Dr. Joel Stark." These words from Dr. Geraldine Wallach say what many of us thought when we received word of Joel's recent death. Dr. Joel Stark was a colleague and mentor to many. We remember him now as a long-time contributor and member of the editorial board for Topics in Language Disorders (TLD). Joel was part of the movement to put "language" into speech-language pathology. He was a contributor to TLD from the beginning, supporting founding editor Dr. Katharine G. Butler as she brought the journal to life. Joel Stark coauthored the first article of the first issue on "The Path to a Concept of Language Learning Disabilities" (Stark & Wallach, 1980). This article led the field in drawing connections between spoken and written language, highlighting the roles of language comprehension and reading decoding in determining reading comprehension, predating by several years Gough and Tunmer's (1986) seminal article on the simple view of reading. When reflecting on Stark's career, Wallach wrote:

Joel was larger than life-the "Father of LLD," among other leadership roles throughout his long career. ...Joel taught us to take the road less traveled and avoid bending to old world traditions that should be left behind. He made us unafraid to take our passions to task forces, presentations, classrooms and journals. Joel took innovative and sometimes controversial positions in language disorders and he taught us to do the same. He was a forward-looking thinker who always saw the next hill to climb. Before it was a popular notion, he taught us that learning disabilities are language-based and that literacy learning is language learning. Year after year, we cherished his presence at almost forty years of perfect ASHA Conference attendance, sitting in the audience taking notes and continuing to support any of his "children" who may have been presenting. Clearly, he was a man of ideas and an inspiration to all who knew him. But, more importantly, he was a beautiful soul who was always there if you needed more than professional help. He often told me "to let the river flow" when I became frustrated with slow change within our field, saying, "You can only do what you can do but keep taking on the challenge, knowing things can't always be fixed."

Also describing Joel's infectious and persistent joy of life, Dr. Li-Rong Lilly Cheng described how "Joel would always say 'Happy Birthday' to me and tell me each day is like a birthday to him, worth celebrating. This philosophy of the celebration of life will be carried in my heart forever. He was a kind, thoughtful, and authentic human being. His phenomenal contributions to child language development and disorders will be remembered." Dr. Barbara Ehren also observed how Joel thought that "every day is cause for celebration." Harking back to serving with him on the ASHA Committee on Language Learning Disabilities in 1976, she described him as "a beacon who always forced us to see the truth of what was happening and not happening in our field for children and adolescents with language disorders. He was a force of nature and an active professional to the end."

Dr. Cheryl Scott described Joel as "an original member of the California group of scholars/clinicians in the 1950s and 1960s probing the linguistic bases of child language disorders." She noted that she first became aware of Joel's work when she attended a paper he delivered at the 1976 ASHA convention on connections between reading and language, during which she was "blown away by the forcefulness and clarity of his arguments." Scott described Joel as passionate about child language and undergraduate and graduate education but noted that he was also "passionate about the theatre, good food, and good wine." Dr. Anthony Bashir described Joel as "a man of passion, intellect, insights, and kindness," who also liked to cook. Rounding out the picture, Bashir added, "He was impatient with those who held passe ideas and often had a smart New Yorker comment or two to say to them in his usual spirited manner." Bashir also noted that "Joel saw clearly the challenges that young children with developmental language disorders faced as they entered the literate demanding culture of school," and "he was quick to use his insights and research to create systems that formed the frameworks required by teachers and SLPs so that these students might know success." Dr. Hugh Catts also observed Joel's role as champion of individuals with reading and language problems, noting that he "was one of the first to recognize the language basis of dyslexia, at a time when many were focusing on visual explanations. Not only was he an exceptional scholar, but he also took a client-focused perspective in much of his writing." Catts also commented on how Joel "was so supportive of my work and always went out of his way to say hello and offer kind words of encouragement."

The consummate New Yorker (the city of his birth), Joel had two children, James and Holly, with his first wife, Muriel Weiner (m. 1950-1967). Joel married again in 1992 to his life partner and best friend, Dr. Arlene Kraat. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Long Island University (1950), Master of Arts from Columbia University (1951), and Doctor of Philosophy from New York University (1956). After serving as an instructor at Long Island University from 1951 to 1954, Joel's career took him to positions as Assistant Professor at the City College of New York (1954-1962), Associate Professor at Stanford (California) University (1965-1968), and then back to New York as Professor of Linguistics and Communications Disorders at Queens College, CUNY (1968-2002). Throughout his career, Joel supported clinical learning and service delivery, serving as Professor and Director Emeritus of the Speech-Language-Hearing Center, Queens College, CUNY. Joel was awarded the Honors of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association in 2001.

Dr. Elaine Silliman spoke of being Joel's doctoral student. She wrote, "I first met Joel during my doctoral study at the CUNY Graduate Center. It was easy to feel alone and adrift in the CUNY intellectual milieu. But when Joel ambled into a lecture room (he always ambled), we always knew that he was there to support our learning. Joel was a mentor to women obtaining PhDs long before it became fashionable, and he retained that role even years later." Dr. Carol Westby also described him as "the consummate learner and an optimist who knew that achievement was possible when one focused on the good and had a vision for the possible." Westby added, "As a mentor, he helped us develop paradigms to guide our work. He inspired us to pursue our interests and goals because he believed we were capable; and he made us believe we were capable and that what we desired could be attained. Joel may be gone, but he has left some of his spirit woven into each person who had the privilege of knowing him." Dr. Froma Roth also experienced Joel as "a unique teacher, an exquisite mentor, and a genuine scholar." Observing his impact, she added, "Joel made me fall in love with his passion for childhood language and dedicate my career to the children of the world."

In an e-mail Joel wrote to me on March 27, 2020, he commented on the times, saying, "Meanwhile we are coping (as you) with this coronavirus madness. ...I regret that I won't be in San Diego for the convention. After 69 years as an ASHA member, my retirement time has come. I still recall attending my first convention in 1950-1951 when ASHA met in New York with the Speech Association of America in New York. Indeed, it's been (and continues to be) a great run...." To this I would add, for those of us who knew you, Joel, or benefited from your work-a great run indeed!

-Nickola Wolf Nelson, PhD

Professor Emerita

Western Michigan University

Former Editor

Topics in Language Disorders

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