Joshua Nadel Obituary (1947 - 2021)

AUGUSTA - Joshua Nadel, 74, passed away on October 16, 2021 at the Alfond Center for Health in Augusta. He was a longtime resident of Augusta and had previously resided in Auburn for many years. Josh was born May 26, 1947 in Plainfield, New Jersey, the son of the late Harold A. and Sylvia (Reich) Nadel. He graduated from Arts High School, a selective fine arts school in Newark, New Jersey. After high school, he attended Pratt University and Syracuse University where he received his B.A. in Art. Josh went on to further his education at Alfred University in New York where he received a Master of Fine Arts degree. Josh joined the University of Maine at Augusta in 1975 as one of the university’s original art faculty members. He made contributions to the UMA campus not only through his teachings and influence on the work of his students, but also with his own sculpture and art. Josh later became Dean of the College of Arts & Humanities and advocated for a strong liberal arts curriculum. During his tenure as Dean, Josh developed UMA’s associate and baccalaureate degrees in Liberal Studies to provide students with opportunities for a broad and versatile education. He strongly supported distance learning and worked toward making post-secondary education available in locations where Maine citizens were underserved. Josh was made Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs in 2001. He supervised UMA’s first truly comprehensive strategic plan and was a champion for UMA throughout the University of Maine system. He laid the groundwork for the architecture program and was chief academic officer in charge of integrating UMA and University College in Bangor, guiding changes in the governance, communication, scheduling and personnel at the two campuses. Josh devoted his professional life to UMA with his commitment to its students, staff, and faculty. He was thoughtful, he had vision and perseverance, and he was guided by his fundamental belief in higher education’s ability to enrich people’s lives. Josh was well-liked and highly respected by his peers, his students, and the University of Maine community. Josh was a present, engaged, supportive, and loving father to four step-children, Lara, Louis, Ross, and James. He instinctively knew how to be a father in the most loving and intuitive ways and whole-heartedly loved his children as if they were his own. He was an extraordinary man who will be remembered for his sense of humor, amazing art and sculpture, delicious cooking, and colorful Hawaiian shirts, his love of dancing, boogie-woogie blues music, and fast cars, and his sage advice and unconditional love. Josh was a dedicated and loyal son who, with his brother, cared for their mother in her later years. He is survived by his brother David Nadel and his wife Ann Bowman of Saratoga Springs, New York, his step-children Lara (Talarico) and her husband Arthur Anthony of Lincoln, Massachusetts, Louis Talarico III and his wife Lesley (Roberston) of Austin, Texas, Ross Talarico and his wife Amy (Matthews) of El Cerrito, California, and James Lasso of Augusta, Maine. He had seven grandchildren Jacob, Lucas, Elsa, Jack, Henry, Harper, and Scarlett who he loved dearly. Josh always said that his step-children and grandchildren were “pure joy” to him. A celebration of Josh’s life will be held at the University of Maine at Augusta at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Josh’s memory may be made by check to: “UMA - Joshua Nadel Memorial Scholarship Fund” and mailed to University of Maine at Augusta, President's Office, C/O Joyce Blanchard, 46 University Drive, Augusta, ME 04330. Donations may also be made in Josh’s memory to ankylosing spondylitis research via the Spondylitis Association of America. Arrangements are in the care of the Knowlton and Hewins Funeral Home, One Church St., Augusta, where condolences may be shared with the family on the obituary page of the website at www.familyfirstfuneralhomes.com