Joel Robert Feidelman

We mourn the passing of Joel R. Feidelman. He was a gentleman with a beautiful smile, infectious laugh, quick wit, and a compassionate and generous heart. There was no better person to have as a friend.

Joel was a man of passions: a self-proclaimed “chocoholic”; an avid reader of three newspapers delivered daily (plus more online); and a devoted sports fan over eight decades. He deeply loved his Yankees since childhood, the Syracuse Men’s basketball team since college, and the Redskins/Commanders NFL team and the Bullets/Wizards NBA team since moving to Washington, D.C. in his twenties. He was a longtime season ticketholder for many of these teams and prided himself on “getting good seats … and even better parking!”

Most importantly in his pantheon of passions, Joel LOVED music. He had over 4,500 music CDs, acting as his own Spotify before Spotify even existed. He was always happiest at a live music performance, especially when listening to American and Irish folk, Broadway musicals, and opera. He was a regular at both the Kennedy Center of Washington, D.C. as well as the Birchmere of Alexandria, Virginia — two distinct locations that reflected the range of his musical tastes. He even helped produce the albums of his much beloved Maine-based folk trio, Schooner Fare.

Joel also had a passion for collecting, saving every Playbill from every show he ever saw! He also collected sports memorabilia, amassing artifacts from his favorite sports teams, but mostly the Yankees. He was a bibliophile and took great pride in his extensive library filled with books on sports, music, Irish history and Judaica.

With his wife Jan with whom he shared a “storybook marriage,” Joel also had a passion for travel. During his retirement, Jan and Joel traveled the world together. Joel was proud to share that he had visited all fifty states, eighty-five countries and six of the seven continents. Their travel adventures were epic and even included hot air ballooning in Turkey, Myanmar and Australia.

Joel was born in Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to Lillian and Samuel Feidelman with one younger sibling, Richard L. Feidelman. He was predeceased by his immediate family members.

Joel graduated from Hazleton High School with honors in 1951. He then received a B.A. in Political Science from Syracuse University in 1955, graduating magna cum laude and elected to Phi Beta Kappa that year. At Syracuse, Joel was a member of the social fraternity Tau Delta Phi, serving senior year as Vice President of his chapter. He also became the official tutor of Syracuse student-athlete Jim Brown.

Joel then attended Yale University Law School, graduating with a J.D. in 1958.

After law school, Joel served in the United States Air Force from 1958-1961, leaving active duty as a Captain. During that time, he was an Assistant Staff Judge Advocate for Procurement, Air force Logistics Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. It was in Ohio that Joel fell in love with folk music, seeing The Limeliters perform at a local club seven nights in a row.

Joel joined the Washington office of the international law firm of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, where he spent the entirety of his long and successful career. Prior to retiring as a Senior Partner in the firm, Joel had been the Co-Chairman of the Litigation Department in Washington and the Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s Government Contracts Practice Group. In 1968 Joel took a leave of absence from the firm to volunteer for Hubert Humphrey’s Presidential campaign.

In addition to his thriving legal practice, Joel was active in his community. He was an Executive Committee member of the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Washington, a former President of the UJA Young Leadership Cabinet of Greater Washington, a former member of the National UJA Young Leadership Cabinet, and the first awardee (1969) of the Greater Washington UJA Young Leadership Award.

From 1983 to 1984, Joel also served as President of the Woodmont Country Club in Rockville, MD, where he rewrote the club’s bylaws, ensuring that women had stronger legal protections as members.

Joel was a longtime member of the Washington Hebrew Congregation in D.C. until moving to Longboat Key, where he became a member of Temple Beth Israel. Throughout his life he remained a continuing member of his childhood synagogue: Temple Beth Israel in Hazleton, Pennsylvania.

Joel is survived by his loving wife of 38 years, Jan, and his two daughters — Nancy Feidelman (Tim Carroll) of Oakland, California and Karen Hamlin (Dave Hamlin) of White Plains, New York — along with five grandchildren (Sophie Hamlin, Violet Hamlin, Asa Hamlin, Ben Carroll, Caleb Caroll), and his in-laws, nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

A Celebration of Life for Joel will be held at Plymouth Harbor Retirement Community Chapel, 700 John Ringling Blvd. in Sarasota, FL, February 7, 2026, at 3 PM. A military honors Final Commitment Service to entomb his cremated remains will be private, held at Indiantown Gap National Cemetery, Annville, PA.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) or UJA (United Jewish Appeal).