Joseph Rudolph Gaubinger

Joseph Rudolph Gaubinger

Northampton, MA - Joseph Rudolph Gaubinger, of Northampton Massachusetts, died on March 14th of complications following surgery. He was 91.

Those lucky enough to live in Joe's orbit remember his steadiness and calmness, his generosity, and his deeply familiar routines: the afternoon announcement that he was going upstairs to "read, probably take a nap"; the Sunday morning waffle batter, set out on an otherwise spotless kitchen counter; the constant rotation of spy-thriller paperbacks checked out from the Lilly Library; the endless, uncomplaining willingness to do the quotidian work of keeping the household running; the steadfast devotion to his wife, Ann, for the 45 years of their marriage; the tightness with which he laced the ice skates of his four children.

Joe was born in 1931 in South Bend, Indiana, to Austrian immigrants Magdalena (Martha) Mayer Gaubinger and Joseph Gaubinger. Martha was primarily a housewife; Joseph Sr. worked as the custodian for the local newspaper. Joe was educated at the Seminary and University of Notre Dame, graduating in 1953, and was ordained as a Congregation of Holy Cross priest in 1956. He then began graduate studies in psychology at Catholic University of America in Washington DC, where he received his PhD in 1965.

Joe's stories of his years in the priesthood were full of the pleasures and routines of collective life, which would later so define his orientation to his family. After receiving his PhD, Joe went to live and work at the Holy Cross Novitiate in Bennington, Vermont. He also worked at a local counseling center. In 1974, after 17 years as a priest, he received a papal dispensation from his vows.

It was in Bennington that Joe met Ann Cleaveland, with whom he spent the rest of his life. They married in 1977 and went on to have four children. Ann and Joe settled in Northampton to raise their family. Joe spent his career there, working as a psychologist for the behavioral health services of Kaiser Permanente, for the Outpatient Behavioral Mental Health Services of Cooley Dickinson Hospital, and for Community Support Options. Ever the workhorse, he retired in 2019 at the age of 87. Many in the community will remember Joe as a talented and helpful therapist and a generous colleague. He also relished any opportunity to spend time in the natural world. He was an excellent gardener, and enjoyed bird watching and photography. There were no instruments of measurement – clocks, thermometers, compasses – that he didn't like.

Joe made a gentle exit from the world, surrounded by his family. He is survived by his wife, Ann; his children, Nick, Rachel, Adam, and Michael; his grandchildren Anna (age 5), Hudson (3), Peter (2), Vita (1), and Alexander (3 months); and his sister, Marlene, of Pompano Beach, Florida. A memorial service will be held later this spring. Donations in Joe's memory would be welcome at the Massachusetts Audubon Society or the Cooley Dickinson VNA and Hospice.