- Date Of Birth: March 15, 1939
- Date Of Death: April 10, 2020
- State: Florida
Joel Edward Gross was born March 15, 1939 in Paterson NJ, to Herman and Virginia Gross. He leaves behind his wife of twenty-five years, Maria, two brothers, Robert and William, his nephew Gordon, and his niece Catherine with her family.
Joel was the love of my life; he provided me with the security, safety and unconditional love I had been searching for my entire life. If you have a husband like I had who was a friend, lover, who gave you confidence, never doubted you, praised you and always told you he loved you and that you were beautiful, then you are truly blessed – as I was.
Joel was a stutterer as a child; was taunted for stuttering and as a weakling but overcame both. He also had asthma, which almost killed him as a child, but he also overcame this by becoming a weightlifter, boxer, and runner. Taught by his father, he learned to work hard and approached every task whole-heartedly and with passion.
Joel went to Seton Hall University after high school to study medicine (Billy, his brother said he had a brilliant mind) but dropped out to help his father pay for the expenses of his mother’s illness by working in his father’s sweet shop. He worked nights for Coca Cola Bottling in Paterson, N.J. He left Coca Cola to work as a lab tech for Nabisco in New York.
At age 21, he enlisted in the Navy in 1960 and became a “CT” (Communications Tech), serving as a Russian Linguist, part of the Naval Security Group. He became an Intelligence Specialist, Cryptographer and a Crypto-analyst. He served with distinction in Japan, where he learned karate and spoke Japanese fluently. He rose to the rank of First-Class Petty Officer before leaving in 1965. He received the Navy’s Commendation Medal for sustained acts of heroism, for direct contact with the enemy, being depth charged by the Russians for days. The military provided him with a chance to be a leader of men and to be the best at what he did. For that, he loved the U.S. Navy and any veteran who served. After five years, he was honorably discharged and worked as a short order cook in his father’s luncheonette.
Joel was restless; his family life was tumultuous, and his life reflected that restlessness. Joel was complex (loved hot dogs, French fries and Coca Cola, fine art, classical music, and intellectually stimulating conversation), cerebral, brutally honest on the outside, but he had a hidden sweetness that he did not reveal to many people. He was also kind, gentle, loving and would do anything for anyone.
After a few police officers observed Joel breaking barrels of ice with his fists, jumping over the top of the counter feet first to chase a thief, and disarming a man with a knife, at the suggestion of these officers, Joel joined the local police force in Lincoln Park and served for 14 years. During that time, he worked two part-time jobs and under the GI bill earned a degree at the top of his class with honors in sociology from Seton Hall University. While on duty, one night he got a call about a fight at a local bar. Together with his partner, when he entered the bar, he saw three men fighting, within seconds, all three were unconscious on the floor and soon on their way to jail.
In the next phase of his life, he chose to work in the corporate sector becoming an international security and risk consultant, taking assignments in Canada, Spain, Portugal, Monaco, Nice, Germany, Switzerland, France and other countries. He gave seminars and provided expertise to some of the largest firms in the world, such as Sysco. He was an expert in all matters involving security, with contacts everywhere, gaining their admiration as they came to know him. He could talk to anyone, about any subject, at any time. Later in life, he became a claims adjuster handling multi-million-dollar claims.
In the summer of 1980, Joel devoted his life to Jesus Christ. As ever, he gave himself wholly to the task. He was a Sunday School teacher, a deacon, led the evangelism team, and taught self-defense to the women. He shared his faith with anyone who would listen, including those who attended his seminars. “Give me a show of hands: how many of you think you’ll make it home tonight?” And so, the discussion would begin.
On September 2, 1995, Joel married the love of his life, Maria. She had a close family, something he’d always longed for, but never found till he met her.
In October 2017, Joel was diagnosed with Wegener’s Disease (GPA), rare aggressive kidney disease, affecting only one in a million; doctors thought he would live only a few months; four months later he was diagnosed with a rare cancer-angiosarcoma, which attacks the blood vessels-on his face, also one in a million. What are the odds? The treatments went well and abated the symptoms for a while. But the diseases took an increasing toll on his body. After a year and a half, mini-strokes impacted his mind and speech. He was a fighter and held on as long as he could to be with his wife, and yet not wanting to burden her further, he succumbed on Good Friday, April 10, 2020, In that bittersweet moment, he joined his Savior in paradise, freed to enjoy God forever.
African Bible Colleges, PO Box 103, Clinton, MS 39060. 601-922-1962
