Joel B. Inbody

He is survived by his mother, Kimberly Lewis, his brother Jonathan (Andrea) Inbody, his aunt and uncle Kelly & Bertron ‘Skip’ Willson, their son Gregory, and his grandparents Larry and Claudia Bensink. He was preceded in death by his dad, Robert Lewis, who passed away January 2022 at the age of 60.

Joel is a graduate of Holland High School, SUNY Geneseo (B.A.) and SUNY Buffalo (M.A.). He was issued a Presidential Fellowship for his work at SUNY Buffalo which is a rare honor. He also completed doctoral level graduate studies on a full scholarship at a prominent university out of state. Some of his scholarly work can be found in the journal, Sociology of Religion. His book, The Praxis of Inequality: A Study of Three Ancient Agricultural Societies, based on his doctoral research, was published by The Edwin Mellen Press, and he was awarded an honorary doctorate by means of this publication. His book can be found in various university libraries across the country.

He returned to the Western New York area in 2019 and worked as a housing specialist for Belmont Housing and as a paralegal for the Center for Elder Law and Justice, and the Bernhardi Law firm of West Seneca. He was an avid reader and loved fossil-hunting and hiking, through creek beds, railroad trails, parks and mountains. He loved taking, Phoenix, his “pupparoo,” on adventures on the Joe Panza Trail in Alden Town Park while he lived in Alden with his mother for a few months after Robert’s death. He traveled extensively through China and Peru during two summers of graduate studies. He loved music. Simon and Garfunkel, and Flogging Molly, an Irish folk band, were two of his favorite groups. He sought to live life simply and on his own terms. He was also an inspiring artist, working on a contract for another book with the Edwin Mellen Press that would have contained pen and ink drawings in a surrealistic style along with biographies of historical religious figures, once labeled as heretics. He was drawn to stories of notable personalities of depression-era America and spiritual individuals of the world who were often the misunderstood “underdogs” and suffered as “outsiders.”

He was a compassionate, kind, gentle soul who loved his family deeply. His tragic death, out of state, is under investigation. The family wishes it to be known that it was not suicide, but politely asks that no other questions be asked at this time. He is also mourned by extended family and friends in Ohio, North Carolina and Western New York.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations in his memory be made to NAMI Buffalo & Erie County (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

The opening lines of The Wasteland, a poem by T. S. Eliot, one of his favorite poets, is never more true than now:

“April is the cruellest month, breeding

Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing

Memory and desire, stirring

Dull roots with spring rain.”

A visitation for Joel will be held Wednesday, April 12, 2023 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Wood Funeral Home, 784 Main Street, East Aurora, New York 14052. A celebration of life will occur Monday, April 17, 2023 at 3:30 PM at Grace in Community Church, 11269 Broadway, Alden, NY 14004.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.woodfh.com for the family.