Joshua Jay Dostis

Joshua Jay Dostis

New Salem, MA - Joshua Jay Dostis, aka WafflesTClown, aka Joshua Waffleman, relinquished his life to the cancer he'd been stoically enduring for over two years on November 9, 2024. He refused all treatment. He is survived by his brother, Irving Dostis, a niece Melanie Dostis, both of McLean, Virginia, and a nephew, Jeffrey D. Dostis, Mission Viejo, California, as well as many friends and fans.

Joshua was born on September 19, 1941 in Brooklyn, NY. He earned two architectural degrees and a mechanical engineering degree at City College, and worked briefly for famed architect Paul Rudolph. He was drafted into the U.S.Army and was stationed in Germany, where he cartooned for the base newspaper and assisted the generals by drawing war maps.

When he realized that slaving to become an architect would not work for him, he left New York for western Massachusetts. His favorite early job was at a pre-school. There he discovered his love of children. His appreciation of their honest and open-hearted approach to life inspired him to later create countless characters to provoke both laughter and deeper thinking about an issue.

Joshua had a deep need to educate in whatever way he could. His chosen path was to don a costume, gather his props and interact with the public, whether that was a huge music festival, parade, or street corner while making his famous spinach waffles. He was a master of improvisation, having that rare ability to verbally dazzle and engage his audience.

For over 11 years he worked on writing and revising his self-illustrated booklet titled "Ten Condiments for a Delicious Life." It has been distributed worldwide. It was his gift to young people. He was deeply gratified to receive numerous phone calls and notes from grateful young recipients who had never even thought about loving themselves: "Love what you do and love yourself for doing it."

His causes were many, from warning about global warming and "The Sixth Extinction" to decommissioning Seabrook, Rowe and Yankee nuclear power plants; from helping dissuade the state from routing Route 2 through Wendell State Forest and warning about the dangers of the coming Iraqi war to protesting elections. He fought publicly and energetically to make others see what he could already see. He deeply respected Indigenous wisdom and forged his own path toward peace, seeing himself as a Heyoka, a spiritual clown. He was, in fact, a visionary.

Western Massachusetts political activists, dancers and various spectators knew him; some by name, some by reputation.

Josh created spectacle in order to entice people to hear his message. Curious people asked questions. Others judged or simply ignored him and walked away. Some understood that his actions came from a place of deep understanding, vision and a desire to educate. His actions, costumes and props were used in an attempt to raise awareness, even if it meant metaphorically pulling down spectators' pants to do it.

There will never again be waffles like his, or demonstrations like his, dances like his or vision like his. He was one of a kind.

A celebration of his astonishing and meaningful life is being planned for spring 2025.