GRAND LAKE STREAM – Joel Snow Fawcett Jr., 85, passed away at 1:47 p.m. Monday, Aug. 10, 2009, at a Bangor hospital, due to complications from major surgery. Joel left this world fighting for the life he loved and lived to the fullest every day. Joel was born June 19, 1924, in Melrose, Mass., to Joel Snow Fawcett Sr. and Helena Parker Fawcett. From a very young age, Joel developed a love for the outdoors, and was most at home walking in the woods scouting for deer hunting spots or fly-fishing for small mouth bass out of a double end canoe. When most kids were swimming and playing, he would be fishing. He had planned on at least one fishing excursion this summer and was looking forward to deer hunting in the fall. Joel soon became the man of the family at age 14, when his father passed away in 1938 from pneumonia and tuberculosis. He was raised during the Great Depression and gained valuable life lessons teaching him humility, bravery and strength of character. After graduating high school, the West called to him, so he hitchhiked from Boston to Fort Collins, Colo., to attend Colorado A & M, now known as Colorado State University. During his first year in college, World War II began, sohe enlisted in the Navy as his father did and left shortly thereafter. He spent the next four years on the USS Ingraham fighting in the European and Pacific fronts. Toward the end of the war, he sustained a serious back injury due to a kamikaze attack. He came home to the Boston area and had one of the very first discectomies performed in the U.S. After recovering from this injury, he continued his college education and obtained his bachelor’s degree in animal husbandry from Colorado A & M. Joel worked in Wyoming, Montana and Colorado, managing cattle ranches and showing cattle many months out of the year. His prize heifer, Estralita, won him many blue ribbons and awards. In the late 1950s, his back injury from the war crept up on him again which forced him to leave the cattle business that he so enjoyed. Joel had to recreate his career path. Joel’s brother-in-law, Raleigh, mentioned that he always enjoyed Joel’s letters, as they were eloquent and beautifully written. Since Joel also had a deep love and understanding of the outdoors, Raleigh encouraged him to try his hand at writing articles for outdoor magazines. He did just that and submitted his first story to Sports Afield, whereupon it was immediately purchased and published. He then began his freelance photojournalist career and wrote for many outdoor publications, including Field & Stream, Outdoor Life, Bass Master and Fur, Fish & Game, to name a few. Joel found a niche with the Canadian Department of Tourism, who sponsored several fishing and hunting excursions each year for close to 30 years. He and his wife, Lillian, traveled extensively throughout the provinces to various fishing and hunting lodges. He would then write about the places he visited in his articles, which played a key role in promoting Canadian tourism. He was still writing several articles per year in his last years of life. While Joel’s writing career was in its infancy, he found a small cabin for sale on Big Lake just outside of Grand Lake Stream. He purchased the camp and lived there with his Brittany spaniel six months out of the year for several years before he met his wife, Lillian Viola White. They met and were married within six months and had a beautiful, loving relationship for more than 42 years. They had one child, Julie, who was jokingly referred to as their little drip. Once he settled down in Grand Lake Stream, he became a registered Maine guide and pursued that path for nearly 20 years during the summers while writing during the remainder of the year. Throughout the years, he gained a large clientele and eventually began taking clients on guided camping trip. Joel is survived by his wife, Lillian Fawcett of Grand Lake Stream; his daughter and son-in-law, Julie and Alex Jumpeter of Atlanta; and his sister, Sara Garran and her family of White River Junction, Vt. Joel was a very humble, private person and was not one for ceremonies. In honor of his wishes, Joel will be cremated and his ashes will be scattered at one of his favorite places at a later date, which will be announced in the paper and in his hometown of Grand Lake Stream. A memorial fund titled, Lillian Fawcett, has been established at Machias Savings Bank, Princeton, for her future care.
JOEL SNOW FAWCETT JR.
