Joseph N. (Joe) Uhl, husband, father, grandfather, friend, mentor, educator, concerned citizen, public servant, servant of God, sojourner, questioner, warrior for social justice, proponent of peace, champion of the planet, moral man, and West Lafayette resident, was born July 9, 1939, in Lima, OH and died March 10, 2023.

Joe treasured public libraries and was a strong advocate for public schools throughout his life.  Paraphrasing Aristotle, “Education is the best remedy for old age”, Joe believed that education is the best remedy for all.  Joe’s academic accomplishments were many, and he was a lifelong educator and learner.  He graduated from Lima (OH) Senior High School in 1957.  He earned his undergraduate degree in Horticulture and his PhD in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University and completed his post-doctoral studies with the USDA in Washington, D.C.  He began and finished his career as a professor at Purdue University and taught at University of California-Davis, University of Alabama, Wageningen (Netherlands) University, Agricultural University of Cracow (Poland), Godollo University (Hungary) and Budapest University of Economic Sciences (Hungary) over the course of his career.  Dr. Uhl loved the classroom and excelled there receiving numerous awards for his teaching, including the outstanding national marketing chapter advisor, the outstanding professor at the Purdue School of Agriculture, and the American Agricultural Economics Association Distinguished Teacher Award.  His publications were many, but his most cherished writing achievement was authoring Marketing of Agricultural Products, which was the nation’s leading textbook on the topic, is used worldwide and has been translated into many languages, including Chinese and Russian.   Upon retirement he said, “I learned as much or more than I taught.  And I learned that you get what you expect in life and in the classroom.  High expectations for students and others produce high performance.  Thanks to everyone who touched my life.”

Joe’s fondest memories of his childhood included his mischievous adventures with his older brother David, who preceded Joe in death, and working holidays in the family flower business. Joe considered his greatest accomplishments to be raising children and grandchildren and seeing what a difference education can make in the world.   Joe enjoyed traveling throughout the world.  He had a special connection to the oceans, the mountains, and animals.  He played the banjo and loved music, especially jazz.  He visited many of the world’s parks and historic sites and shared his love of the outdoors with his family.  He taught all of his children and grandchildren to play chess.  He loved swimming, canoeing, skiing and tennis.  He tolerated running and jogging, but only as a means to get to a café for pastries.  He enjoyed chocolate cake so much that he fed his infant daughter chocolate cake.  In more recent years, he made a sign each day for his front yard with rhymes about school for neighborhood children to read as they waited for the school bus.  Joe was passionate about walking and cycling; he advocated strongly for hike and bike paths in West Lafayette.  Joe was a prolific writer as well, writing many letters to the editor, to university, church, and government officials, neighbors, his family, and several versions of his own eulogy and obituary.  He volunteered with the homeless shelters in Lafayette, the food bank, and other initiatives to mitigate poverty.  He resisted training his dogs, believing in freedom over discipline where his pets were concerned.

Joe leaves the following message for us:  “The best things on earth are nature, relationships, education, personal growth, and, provisionally, the incredibly successful and interesting human race.  Keep the planet safe and the species heading toward the future.  Practice peace and love each other.  Worship your god.  Help each other.”

Those who loved Joe and survive him include his beloved wife Nataliya (Natasha), sister Dianne and brother-in-law Don, ex-wife (Susie); children: Mary Angela (Missy) and husband Michael, Joseph Michael (Mike), Jennifer, Kostyantyn, and Lesia; grandchildren Nicholas, Oscar, Glebe, Axel, and Solo; nephews Ben and Gabe, niece Debbie; and last but not least, his happy, kind and free-thinking dog, Tuffy.

A memorial service for Joe will be held Saturday, March 18 at 11:00 am at the Chapel of the Good Shepherd in West Lafayette.  Charitable donations can be made to Lafayette Urban Ministry (https://www.lumserve.org/donate/).