Dear Jill,

C’est avec beaucoup de peine qu’Anne-Marie et moi avons appris le décès de Josh. Nous ne pensions pas que la maladie le rattraperait aussi vite. Nous te disons toute notre affection et te souhaitons beaucoup de courage pour surmonter cette épreuve.

C’est en Casamance que j’ai rencontré Josh pour la première fois et ce sont nos longues discussions sur les « systèmes agraires » qui nous avaient rapprochés. J’avais alors perçu que Josh était quelqu’un de particulier et de particulièrement attachant. C’est quand vous êtes venus à Montpellier que j’ai pu découvrir toute la richesse de sa personnalité en particulier son sens de l’humour, sa curiosité intellectuelle et son humanité.

De même qu’il y a des voyages de noces, il y a des voyages d’amitié et celui que nous avons fait ensemble dans les oasis du Sud du Maroc a fortement contribué à conforter cette amitié.

Dans son dernier message Josh avait formé le vœu de revenir dans la région. Sache que si tu souhaites venir nous rendre visite tu seras la bienvenue et ce sera une joie de te recevoir.

Si comme disait son père, nous continuons à vivre dans le souvenir de ceux que nous aimons, Josh reste très présent parmi nous.

Nous t’embrassons.

Philippe et Anne-Marie

From the time I arrived at UW as a new grad student, it was obvious that Josh had an adventurous spirit and a genuine respect for people which opened doors for him across the globe. Josh’s past work in the Andes was part of the inspiration for my research in Ecuador, a project that he thoughtfully helped me design. When I met with his colleagues in Ecuador they would ask how Josh was doing and we would share a knowing smile thinking about a humorous Josh moment. I especially liked speaking Spanish with Josh as his Spanish sometimes came out with a French twist.

Josh’s colleagues were always his friends too, and I admired how he treated others with respect regardless of whether he had just met them or known them for years. To Jill, Jess, Matt and the rest of his loving family, thanking you for sharing him with us, we are all truly lucky

Thank you all who have asked about how to commemorate Josh. He always called one of his two granddaughter’s (Sophia) his ‘littlest angel’ and while heart breaking, the way Sophia would would give her grandfather advice on receiving chemotherapy was very touching. We would like to request that in lieu of flowers, a donation to the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation 



http://www.childhoodbraintumor.org/ 


would be what Josh would have wanted. 

Like so many others who have written here, Josh had a lot of influence in my life as well.  My graduate research with Josh at UW introduced me to many great people and resources including UW Extension agriculture agents -which is where I now work.  He also opened my eyes to the Peace Corps -an experience for me that has yet to be matched.  

May the memories we have of Josh, and his valuable contributions to research and science live on! 

I want to take the chance to thank Josh and the Posners for their kindness and hospitality. I had the pleasure of meeting Josh just last summer when I arrived to the US as a grad student. I spent a week with the Posners in Elkhart Lake, WI where we celebrated Josh’s birthday. It is here where I experienced Josh’s kindness by welcoming to his family’s home and where I saw what a loving husband, father and grandfather he was.

Although we only met briefly, the impact he had on me was tremendous since he was one of the first to welcome me to my new life in the US; and what a warm welcome it was!

Thank you Josh, you will be greatly missed

 Dear Josh,
>
> Greetings from Lugu Lake!  Fieldwork is going magically well and I attach a picture of a tiny field in Luoshui with mounds of fertilizer to be worked in for cornfields.
>
> Josh you have given me so much and my work will forever be enriched because of your vision, tutelage, and direction for IGERT students. I can’t thank you enough.
>
> In my belief system our spirits are always everywhere in simultaneous time and I know that a part of my spirit has been with you and your family through your illness. I believe that a part of the soul of everyone we touch accompanies us on our journeys so you must be surrounded by the lovingkindness of thousands of spirits at this point. We will go with you to the beyond because each of us also resides there.
> So may you feel the Love and Light that surrounds you and may the lovingkindness that you have extended to the world envelop your loved ones with gentle comfort as this transition proceeds.
>
> Josh, I’ll see you on the other side, you dear soul and mentor!  I will miss you so dearly!
>
> With much love to and gratitude for you,
>
> Kiersten
> 王安

Dearest Jill, Matt, and Jess, we are so sorry for your loss.  Of all our friends, we had expected Josh to out live us all.  My father passed away before I was six so I know you all were as blessed as he to have him in your lives for so many years.  He did in deed bring an enthusiasm for life and an expetation that even the toughest challenges like IBTA in the early 1990s when we all met could be surmounted.  We wil do our best to represent those atttitudes and ideas in our lives. 
Dear Jill, Jess and Matt, estoy extremadamente triste, porque como persona egoista que soy siempre tenia la esperanza de ver a todos ustedes y disfrutar de la personalidad inolvidable de Josh. Son pocas las oportunidades que uno tiene de conocer a alguien con la sensibilidad, optimismo, alegria, honestidad de el y de Uds.
Pero, por el otro lado me siento feliz que pude conocerlo y disfrutar de el, por eso se que todos ustedes estaran tambien felices, que formaron parte de su mundo por tanto tiempo.
No puedo darles palabras de consuelo, solo les digo que tienen siempre en nosotros una familia que los quiere y desea lo mejor para ustedes.  
Rosa y Beto

Quiero mandar un mensaje de condolencia a toda la familia. Josh fue un
extraordinario  ser humano. Debemos estar agradecidos con Dios que nos
haya permitido compartir con él tantos momentos extaordinarios donde
su bondad e inteligencia la puso al servicios de los mas pobres. Es un
momento duro para la familia pero el recuerdo de Josh será un apoyo
permanente para seguir adelante. Toda la familia se acuerda de Josh y
lo amoroso que era con ellos todo el tiempo. Tu sabes que nuestra casa
en Armenia es la casa de todos ustedes y que seran recibidos con los

So soon.

 When I receivedyour first email I couldn’t bring myself to believe that the end might be soimminent.

So young.

But for me Josh was always  a young man. When I first met him in Côte d’Ivoirehe barely knew how to grow tomatoes, and he went on to become aninternationally renowned professor of agronomy. And yet he was always a youngman, with the enthusiasm of a young man, ready for new discoveries, ready toset off up a new mountain.

So unfair.

And yet I’m sure the word “unfair” never passed hislips. In his last Xmas message he talked about a roller coaster year, and said “Istill feel lucky all things considered. It is a very cool clinical trial I willbe joining.”

Our thoughts are with you all

Dear Jess,

Condolences from me and my family. I’m a student in the China IGERT program at UW. Like all the other people whose words and images you have been so kind to post, Josh left a deep impression on me. Open-hearted, upbeat in tough situations, and just a generally great guy, he was a benison to everyone, always doing what he could to make relationships happen and flourish.

I’ve attached a couple photos from our field trips in China. Those trips were never as good as when Josh was around. It was as though he ‘activated’ everyone else.

Thanks for conveying this difficult news. We hope you are surrounded by people to whose lives Josh has brought joy.

John, Elisa, and Thora Collins Zinda