The Joseph Years
1951-2001

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What does "Metta" mean?

Justin Nelson

"... Joe was a great man, a very educated individual and the perfect friend.
He will truly be missed.  I know he took much pride and care working with
your e-mail group and because of this I wanted to notify you of this passing.
Please stay in contact and call or e-mail me anytime!"

John Kesler

"... He will definitely be missed."

Bruce Monson

"... He made a significant enough impression on my own life (without ever
having met him personally; without ever having seen what he looks like;
without ever knowing much about his private life and exploits beyond his
writings on errancy), that I feel his friend's idea of making a dedicated
Joseph Crea library is fitting."

"... Joseph Crea's humanitarian spirit often lent an air of temperate dignity
to often acrimonious proceedings."

"... I'm really going to miss this guy!  I miss him already.  Damn."

Doug Krueger

"... He will be missed."

Brax Thomason

"... This list will not be the same without him. Joe Crea was the most intelli-
gent person I never met."

Rachel Becknell

"... I'm sure I'll move on eventually, but for now I just can't believe it.
That such a fine person should just [pass away] ..."

Ken Bonnell

"...  I too am saddened to hear of Joe Crea's death.  He has been a great
contributor to this list and will be sorely missed."

Jim Java

"... This is awful; I'm genuinely saddened by Joseph Crea's death."

"... Ave atque vale [hail and farewell], Joe."
 

"... I have only been participating here a short time, but this man earned
my respect early on."

Mark McFall

"... I'm speechless.....Crea will be missed...."

Scott Boyd

"... For the brief year that I have been present here, Joe Crea has left a mark
on me incommensurate with the short time I have had his acquaintance.  I
imagine that I am probably not unique in that regard. Indeed as others have
mentioned, I too took him as a role model. So let me extend my most heartfelt
and profound condolences to Nancy, Farrell, Bruce, and those others who
knew him well and counted him as a friend. Given the pang that his passing
has invoked in me, I can only imagine your pain and I do send my
sincerest regrets."

Manie Mulder

"... I am shocked, hurt, stunned.  I mourn."

Tim Taylor

"... I've lost a good friend who often corresponded with me privately."

Squirrel

"... He will be missed. He will be here forever in our thoughts."

Chris Stadler

"... Yes, Crea will be missed."

Doug Nelson

"... and in tribute to him, I will sign my post:

With Mettaa,
in honor of Joseph Crea,
Doug Nelson"
 

"... Joseph certainly pursued his interests with great might and intellectual
vigor!  [A] very sad day indeed ..."

Ray Briggs

"... He was a man for whom the old expression about being a gentleman
and a scholar truly applied. I know we will all miss him."

Brian Malcolm

"... I have never found myself so distraught at the death of someone I have
never physically met. In the three years or so that I have virtually known
Joe Crea, he has been one of the most gentle, thoughtful, knowledgeable
and friendly people I have ever known. He had an almost Socratic means of
asking questions, yet was rarely confrontational in forum(s) whose typical
discourse is rife with acrimony. He was equally friendly & helpful in the
private correspondence I had with him. I will miss him."

"... The following is inspired by Thomas Merton's loose translation of the
writings of Chuang-tsu. I hope under the circumstances it is appropriate:

Hey, old friend Joe, where'd you go?
Hey, old friend Joe, where'd you go?
You have gone to where you always were
And we are still here.
Damn it, we are still here.

Goodbye Joe."

Nancy Todd

"...I haven't felt this sad in a long, long time. I feel like I have lost one of
my dearest friends. Good-bye, Joe. You have left us far too soon."

"Dear Mr. [Justin] Nelson,

I just returned from a weekend trip today and received the news of Joe
Crea's tragic death via the ERRANCY mail list. Joe was undoubtedly
the most highly respected individual on our mail list. Even though I
never had the pleasure of meeting Joe, I counted him as a friend. He
was truly a gentleman and a scholar. The news of his death is devastating.
You have my deepest sympathy."

Mark Stein

"... I never knew Mr. Crea personally but I sincerely wish I had, he was
a remarkable man and he will truly be missed by all of us.  The sense of
loss is bewildering considering none of us knew him personally and only
ever communicated with him through this medium.  I should think that
stands as testament to our mutual love, respect and admiration of him,
our lives will not be the same now that he has gone.

With all the mettaa I can muster,

Goodbye Joseph."
 

"... I never met Joseph Crea.  I wish I had.  His postings here have always
delighted and awed me; I've saved dozens if not hundreds of them.  He must
have been a very, very fine human being. This is just awful."

Dave Gaban

"... I was also saddened to hear of Joseph Crea's passing.  I wish I'd had the
opportunity to meet him in person.  I still have a number of his excellent and
detailed posts in my archive file and a number of printed posts I will now
cherish more than before.  Joseph will surely be missed.

With Metta (for Joseph)."
 

"... I'm saddened by his loss, too."

Jack Corbin

"... As with many of you, I had -- and will continue to have -- a great affection
and respect for Joseph, and I will miss him dearly."

"... half the reason I bother to get out of bed in the morning is because of
people like Joseph ..."

Rob Miles

"I had some personal, off-list correspondence with Joseph, but I regret that
I didn't know him better.  I also regret that I will never get a chance to sit with
him, perhaps drinking a beer and smoking a cigar (as long as they weren't
offensive to him) and just listening to him make some argument or another.
It wouldn't have even mattered what the subject was.

His intelligence and biblical knowledge were unsurpassed, and his presence and contributions to the Errancy list can never be overestimated.  His loss is a tre-
mendous blow to the world in general, and it saddens me that many people
will never understand just what a loss it is."
 

"... From what I know and have heard about Joseph Crea, I think he was
one very special guy."

Mark Thomas

"I will miss him. I will miss his big, friendly greetings (Hello, Mark!),
followed by his trademark scholarship or an occasional witticism. These
at times seemed a bit awkward, as if it strained his great mind to break
free for a moment and engage in frivolity--a trait that made him all the
more likeable. He once told me that I had provided him with a new KJV
error that he wasn't aware of. I was proud, like a kid being patted on
the head by a teacher.

Yes, I will miss him."
 

"... I mourn Joseph’s passing.  The world is a poorer place."

J.E. Hill

"... I had some private email communications with him and always
found him cordial, witty, and as others have observed, very bright.
I will miss his contributions and scholarship.  Indeed, we have lost
a friend and colleague.

With Karunaa,

J.E. Hill"
 

"... This saddens me as Joe was one of my very favourite contri-
butors on Errancy and a nice guy as well. He'll be missed. :-(  "

Helen Willis

"Damn, I'll miss Joe. I'm afraid it is not his niceness that I will
mourn the most. Although he was always a very kind and decent
fellow on the list and in the few post we shared off list, what I will
miss most is the ally with a formidable arsenal of weapons in the
never ending fight to keep freedom alive. Every generation has
fought this battle since the concept of intellectual freedom first
reared it ugly little head in the 17th century. There have always
been these unsung heroes that fight back the intellectual chains
of ideas like communism, nazism, and religious fundamentalism.
There have been battles lost in places like Germany in the 30's
and Iran today. Often this has meant that the war of words is
replace by a war of guns.  In countries were there have been
enough heroes, like Joe, the fight has been kept mainly to word.
Joe has given a great gift to the next generation. Hopefully there
will been some among it to pick up his touch.

Perhaps as a lesbian I am more aware than most of how easily
even a free country can oppress a minority that differences are
classified as immoral or illegal, but I cringe ever time I hear a
politician make the kind of now mandatory expression of faith
that has become part of every campaign. Joe fought the good
fight and I think helped beat back the forces of oppression for
yet another few years. I'm grateful to have know him and to be
aware that there are people like him in the world.

I miss you, Joe,

Helen"
 

"... We’ll miss you Joe."

Matthew Bell

"... [I must comment] when it is in regard to such a sensitive matter
as the death of someone I held in high regard such as J. Crea."

Brian Dean

"... Joseph Crea was a great man because he had an intellect, and
used it to benefit his fellow man."

Jean Ely

"... For the past two years I have been so impressed with Joseph Crea
-- not only with his intelligence and his knowledge, but with his kindness
toward the other members of this list.  Perhaps the fact that I only knew
him through e-mail makes it somehow more difficult to believe.  This is
a real shock.

Jean"
 

"I always read Joseph's posts.  Because I always learned something from
them, and loved his wit and sensitivity.  He was a man to emulate."

Walt Loy

"... This news about Joseph Crea is terrible.  It seems a bit shallow to say
the same things over again that our usual posters have said, but you have
covered pretty much all of the ground.  I'll miss his erudite comments as
well.  He will be missed.

Requiem in pacem [rest in peace].

Walt Loy"
 

"Joe Crea, you were very instrumental in bringing me out of the darkness
of religious superstition. I am greatly saddened by your tragic fate and will
never forget you. Your gentle disposition and diligent scholarship will be
sorely missed. Thank you for sharing with me--goodbye.

Charles Bailey"

Farrell Till

"... I have had few deaths affect me like this one.  The day I found out about
it, I forwarded the notice to the list because I knew everyone would want
to know, and then I left my office for several hours.  I wasn't in the mood
to do any work.  Ever since this happened, I have thought about my trip to
Florida back in March.  I had thought about going by to see Joseph while I
was in the state, but he lived in the panhandle several miles away from the
most direct route home for me, and I thought that I needed to get back.
Almost every day the past week I have thought about what a mistake that
was."

"... he left a big hole in the list that probably will never be filled."

Joe Musselwhite

"I have to admit that Joseph Crea was the most respected and probably the
most intelligent person on the Errancy List. I never met Joseph personally,
but I'll sure miss his postings that were so helpful and enlightning.

Joe Musselwhite"

The Last Word

Joseph Crea, 50, of Parker, Fla., passed away Thursday evening
at his home.  Joe was a very respected individual, gentleman and
scholar.  In addition to his great learning, he possessed a highly
humanitarian spirit which always lent a tone of temperate dignity
to the, at many times, acrimonious world around him. Joseph
leaves behind his brother, John Crea; sister-in-law, Mary Crea;
and many devoted friends.  A memorial service will be held Thurs-
day, Aug. 16, 2001, at Parker United Methodist starting at 6 p.m.
Donations for the Joseph Crea Memorial Fund are requested in
lieu of flowers.  Please send all donations to "Joseph Crea Mem-
orial Fund" (ref. No. 3014060450) AMSOUTH Bank, 469 23rd St.,
Panama City, FL 32405.
 

The Joseph Years
1951-2001