Loving husband of Patricia (Tish) B.M. Brennan; proud son of the late Irving and Anna Silverberg; proud father of Sarah Mae Brennan Silverberg; and cherished brother of Wendy (Glenn Koocher) Silverberg; Joel is also survived by his niece, Becky (Tim Downey) Koocher and their children Mia and Will, his nephew David Koocher, and his pembroke welsh corgi, Taffy.
Although born in Rockville Centre, NY at the start of the baby boom (July 8, 1946), Joel grew up in Bangor, Maine, where his maternal grandparents emigrated in the early 20th century, and where his father and mother met during World War II. He was proud all of his life to be a Mainer and Bangor boy: Bangor High, Class of 1964; Lt Colonel and award-winning marksman in the BHS ROTC unit, and loved LL Bean even back when it was an old wooden building with a front porch.
Joel earned four degrees from Brown University: AB/Music; ScB/Electrical Engineering; MSc/Electrical Engineering; and PhD/Biomedical Engineering; as well as a postdoctoral certificate from the Institute for Retraining in Computer Science [IFRICS]. Later he held faculty positions at Vassar College, Boston University, Brown University, and Roger Williams University.
Joel had a real passion for music, mathematics, and history, in that order. He played clarinet and saxophone in high school and in college, he studied organ and harpsichord with Prof. William Dineen, becoming a sought-after church organist and member of the American Guild of Organists.
While conducting research at Boston University Medical Center, he started his own early music group and when he returned to Brown for his PhD, much to the dismay of the Engineering faculty, he not only maintained his musical commitments, but added the study of several more instruments, as well as joining the Brown Chamber Choir, where he met his wife, Tish.
Joel loved the outdoors and once settled in RI he developed a passion for sailing. He was a member of the Edgewood Yacht Club, captaining a spunky West White Potter and later a beautiful 27-foot Cape Dory. Off the water he particularly enjoyed birding and spending time in the New England forests and parks.
As a man proud of his Jewish heritage, he valued the Jewish education he had received as a young man and never stopped studying a wide range of Jewish topics, both historical and contemporary. Even in retirement, Joel was the consummate Renaissance man: he taught math for fun to intellectually curious adults at Hamilton House (HH) and also participated in the HH essay discussion group. In retirement he also pursued his long-standing fascination for navigational mathematics as well as the “practical” mathematics of sailors, merchants, surveyors, and mechanics of the 17thand 18th centuries. Even in retirement he was invited to consult on the mathematics and surveying-related material written by George Washington, which are being studied by the University of Virginia Press.
Whether among fellow Jews, musicians, mathematicians, historians, sailors, birders, or just intellectually curious folk, Joel was noted for his steadfastness and compassion as a friend. Once he adopted you into the family, you could count on his affectionate support and subtle, wry humor forever.
Joel supported many worthy causes throughout his life, but he is certainly smiling as we ask you to do something that is strictly “for the birds”: gifts in memory of Joel may be made to The Audubon Society of Rhode Island https://asri.org/donate-membership/in-memory-gift.html.
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