Joshua B. Lukin

Josh Lukin was the kindest and most valuable teacher at Temple University, hands down. He is and will always be dearly missed. If it wasn't for Lukin, I wouldn't have had nearly as many positive memories during my four years of college. There is absolutely no one like him on the earth and it's privilege to have just been able to meet him, let alone be taken under his wing during some of the most emotionally trying years of my young adult life.

To his wife Ann, all mt sincerest condolenses. I hope you find some solace knowing the impact your husband had on so many people. My prayers are with you and everyone in your family.

Rebecca Waychunas

I remember Joshua coming to my house weekly for his clarinet lesson. I was blessed to teach him and to have become friends with his wonderful mother, Judy. I was thrilled to be included in his Bar Mitzvah. He was such an outstanding young man. He touched my life in a very special way. My sincere condolences to each of his family members. Sent with Love, Pamela Kotel Howley

My mother, Lorice Scipione had young Joshua Lukin as a student at Austintown Middle School. She ( shhh, don't tell anyone) had favorite students and Josh was her #1 favorite. Mom said Josh was the best student she ever taught , that he was witty as well as bright and that he was also favorite among the other students. I remember hearing josh stories at our dinner table. He made an quite an impression as a boy and it appears he never lost his joy of learning . His students were so lucky he continued sharing his immense talents. My parents were extremely honored to have been invited to Josh's Bar Mitzvah. Joshua Lukin has always been special, he touched lives and left a lasting impression.

I was fortunate enough to have had Dr. Lukin as a professor this past Spring 2019 semester. His quick wit and puns really would make everyone leave with a smile on their face. Professor Lukin was my favorite professor last semester, showing true professionalism and compassion in and outside of the classroom. You will be missed, sir.

Sending my love and peace to Ann...

There was nobody like Josh on this earth. It was my great good fortune to meet him, and through him Ann, because of the Temple FYWP. In many ways he taught me to teach all over again.

In my head he's arrived in Tir na nOg, the Land of the Young, where everything is wonderful and there are always cats. And Derrick, and his brother, and Philip K. Dick, and Pete Seeger...

Ave atque vale. I'll see you someday on Fiddler's Green.

This saddens me so. Josh had a great spirit and energy, with wonderful humor. I will miss seeing him around campus and at disability events. My heart breaks for Ann.

English and First-Year Writing at Temple University will be a much duller place without Josh Lukin there. He will be sorely missed by colleagues and students. I will miss the tradition of coffee at Uncle Bobby's in Germantown with Josh, and sometimes with Ann too, because the stories were always scandalous and funny. Josh excelled at both high theory and low gossip, and his dry, raw wit was such a rare find in the conversational world. He was a kind man, and a good friend. I am sending peace to Ann, and to each of Josh's friends as we deal with our loss.

Josh was a wonderful person. He was supportive of me when my parents died. When he participated in Facebook, I enjoyed his musings on pop culture, politics, and literature. I shall miss him, as I miss my folks and his late brother, Jon. Peace, Josh!

With the possible exception of a required math class, first year writing is about as challenging a class to teach as there is at Temple. I had the good fortune to not only start the same year as Josh but to also usually have at least one class in the same room as him, right before or after his section. So early on we got a pretty good handle on each others' moods & needs right before-after the last or next teaching hurdle: a focused or concentrated look called for a brief nod of acknowledgement or short greeting, a relieved or upbeat mien motivated us to share at more length. Over the years 2003-present the same occurred almost daily with us since his office is-was right across from the 11th floor Anderson elevators, and we all rarely close our office doors. Suffice to say I can't recall a single English teaching problem, American lit scholarship question, or pop culture development for which Josh didn't have as insightful a response as one could ever imagine. I knew all along Josh came out of SUNY-Buffalo's renowned program, in fact we discussed it on several occasions ... but it turns out he got a scholarship to go there as well, I just learned yesterday. Never a word about this from the man himself: how humble, and in retrospect of course how unsurprising. Suffice to say that Josh was always there when you needed him, always quickly intuited how to best address your concerns or just share the latest Dylan, Lou Reed, pulp fiction, Beat Generation, or TCM-film noir news. This untimely passing is a shock, and more ... we know we must somehow say "good night, sweet prince" but the words won't come, our throats won't move. Yet the grief Ann and his family must be feeling is surely worse. Awful, unbearable news.

I appreciated Josh's strong spirit, sense of humor and fun and his capacity for enjoying life.
I miss him.

Josh was one of the first friends I made at Temple. We used to take the train together. He was always friendly and a good listener. In 2016, I got involved with the Faculty Senate, and joined the disability committee. I got to know Josh in a new way as he was a tireless advocate for the disabled community. His loss will be deeply felt. Josh Lukin was a great educator, advocate and all around outstanding human being.