"Good night, sweet prince, and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest."

My deepest condolences and prayers go to the family. I became acquainted with Mr. Lamore at San Bernardino Valley College. He is such a great person to everyone. He will be greatly missed.

Joel was supportive. He was kind. He cared deeply for our students. When I was a new faculty member promoting open educational resources we had great conversations about how best to support our Valley College students and he made me feel right at home at the same time. I think it is a rare person who shows up in such thoughtful ways for new faculty. He was a wonderful colleague and I miss him so much. He made a lasting impression on so many of us and we will pay it forward.

Joel Lamore, I am so grateful to have known you, for you gave so much of yourself to the world through word and deed. Your tireless efforts to impart wisdom and knowledge to your students did not go unnoticed. Those students who will never have the privilege of sitting in your classroom or visiting you in your office will miss the ensouling experience of you,  and I will miss your kind and intelligent spirit, your sharp wit, your impeccable management skills, your dedication to educating others, your Mona Lisa smile, and your occasional emails to check up on me.  You shaped so much of space and time at Valley, and now there is no way to thank you except to say, I will remember you. 
Sharon Chapman

I hear you still through your poetry:

My First Thousand Years
                            Joel Lamore
 A century, or fraction, I lived, and then
the borrowed atoms scattered. Flesh is mist
that holds a shape, or so observers think
as if some drowsy, sultry afternoon
finds them, with drooping lids, upon the grass
and looking up to find amusing figures
before the breezes stretch and mold new forms
or drift and thin them wide as all the blue.
 
A hundred later on, some might recall
my life, or artifacts I touched or made
will stand, though none remember me, to mark
that I once passed some way or had a thought.
And my three hundredth year will find that none
know me, though I might hope a hardy poem
or two survives; they will not speak of me,
for like a lover sent a letter, readers
will see themselves and not the writer's face.
As centuries uncoil, I will descend
through ever finer scales of indistinct.
 
And when my thousandth year begins, I will
approach the first step of eternity
that spirals down to the invisible
and purest nothingness, but never arrives.

Joel was such an exceptional educator and person. His knowledge and his humor and friendship meant so much. When I first met Joel in his office in 2000, I was astonished that there was someone on campus, with an interest in Escher and Penrose tilings (physics applications). Both examples, on his walls. As well as "La Belle Dame sans Merci," by Keats. I will never think of that poem the same way. It will always remind me of Joel. I guess, I will probably cherish it now.

On that first visit, I handed him a printout of an early version of Madrigal, and apologized for not having it on disk. I said I would bring it by his office, the next day. When I arrived, Joel had already typed the entire poem up, with correct formating. He said he'd always wanted to do one of these, and likewise, with another name, in the style of Renaissance poets, who wished to remain anonymous. 

Joel decided where it would go. The poem had the honor of the center page, under the name, John Fairfield. With a movie poster graphic I created for it, an idea for a three part story.

Joel's presence and encouragement were a wonderful gift, and now a treasured memory, of my academic journey at Valley College. I always appreciated Joel, and we kept in touch, by phone and email, after I graduated.

Joel came to see my mother and I twice. As a caregiver, those visits encouraged and supported my academic aspirations. Joel said, on the first visit, "Don't worry about it. I just read something, about a physicist who wrote he waited 12 years, before going back to finish his degree." The second visit we talked about Penrose's application of the fundamental frequency-energy relationship, to a zero Big Bang, and instead a phase transition to a cyclical universe, with the anti-de Sitter/conformal field theory correspondence. He said, "Wow, we should have a video discussion of this online with some more people." Joel was an awesome home base and I realize now an inspired mentor. Such a contribution to all of us.

Albert Einstein said, “…the distinction between past, present, and future is only a stubbornly persistent illusion.”  I believe that. I believe I’ll see you again brother! This is only a temporary separation. Thank you for all you gave to this world, the consistency, the talent, the passion.  Thank you for your poetry, your words of inspiration. Thank you for your commitment and love of education.

Joel is so much more to so many of us whose lives he touched, molded, and moved in his inimitable way; I saw him as my little brother both on and off campus turning to him often for his sage words. The Joel look and dry sense of humor, his incomparable work ethic with a total sense of service, sacrifice, his shoulder, his poetry mentorship, his ability to wear every hat he chose to with ease will leave a void  left by an icon that will be hard to fill. We will all need to draw on our quiver of coping quills for a very long time
He will always be here for me in his own way, supporting  me with his smile the way he did when he first walked into my office with a joke to welcome me aboard the English faculty ride that he made so pleasant, rich, and rewarding. Nothing I say here can measure up to who he is.
 Each tear a living, loving memory, Joel.

OBITUARY

Joel Dominic Lamore

December 4, 1965 – January 13, 2024

Stone Funeral Home

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