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William Joslin Obituary

William Joslin, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and citizen of the world, died peacefully on January 29 at his home in Raleigh. He was 90 years old.
Bill’s life was marked by a wide-ranging intellect, a deep reverence for the natural world, and an energetic involvement in public service. He was born in Raleigh’s Cameron Park neighborhood in 1920, and attended Wiley Elementary School and Broughton High School. Bill’s childhood was influenced by the early death of his father, H.V. Joslin and by the subsequent resilience and determination of his widowed mother, Annie Hinsdale Joslin. At the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Bill benefitted from the mentoring of University President Frank Porter Graham, a leader known for progressive ideas on education and civil rights. During World War II, Bill served in the U.S. Navy in the Pacific theater, and in 1946, married Mary Coker of Hartsville, S.C. After graduating from Columbia Law School in 1947, Bill served as a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, another progressive thinker who became his second important role model.
In 1948 he and Mary moved back to Raleigh, where he started his law practice, and 1951 they bought a four-acre tract of forested land on what was then the northern outskirts of town. Turning this property into a richly varied garden of rare and native plants and trees, flowers and vegetables became Bill and Mary’s delight during the next six decades, and in this home they raised their six children.
While maintaining an active law practice, Bill devoted himself as well to the causes that he loved: fair elections, progressive politics, education, and preservation of natural areas. He served as Assistant City Attorney, Chairman of the both the Wake County and the State Board of Elections, Founding President of the NCSU Friends of the College concert series, Chairman of the Board of UNC Public Television, Chairman of the Wake County Democratic Party, President of the Wake County Bar Association, Board Chairman of the North Carolina Nature Conservancy, the North Carolina Botanical Garden, and Kalmia Gardens of Coker College. He also served on the board of the Southern Environmental Law Center. In the 1980s, Bill was active in helping to establish the Raleigh Greenway system.
Working closely with the N.C. General Assembly, Bill spearheaded the Nature Conservancy campaign to establish the Recreation and Natural Heritage Trust, a state dedicated fund for land acquisition and management of ecologically significant areas in North Carolina. He also helped develop the strategy of obtaining annual capital for the state trust through fees for personalized license plates, which was adopted by the General Assembly in 1989. On the federal level, he led the Nature Conservancy in winning appropriations for acquisition of Panthertown Valley and additional land in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. He was also long active in the work of the Triangle Land Conservancy.
In 1990, Bill received the national Nature Conservancy’s highest honor for volunteer service, the Oak Leaf Award. In addition, he received the Joseph Branch Professionalism Award from the Wake County Bar Association in 1992, the Liberty Bell Award from the Young Lawyers Division of the N.C. Bar Association in 2005, and was inducted into the N.C. State Bar Association General Practice Hall of Fame in 2007.
Bill was a lifelong member of Christ Episcopal Church in downtown Raleigh, and served there faithfully in many different capacities. In 2007 he received the Christ Church Cross in recognition for outstanding service to the church.
Bill’s work made Raleigh and North Carolina a better place to live. In our city, he was responsible for helping to save several areas which are now public parkland, and his and Mary’s homeplace will one day be public parkland as well, a perpetual green spot in the heart of Raleigh.
Bill is survived by his wife and partner of nearly 65 years, Mary Coker Joslin; by two brothers, Devereux Joslin and Hinky Joslin, both of Raleigh; by six children, Ann Joslin Killough (husband Joseph) of Brookline, MA, Carolyn Joslin Watson (husband Randal) of Greenville, SC, Nell Joslin (former husband Gray Medlin) of Raleigh, Will Joslin (wife Rebecca) of Raleigh, David Joslin (wife Laurie) of Greensboro, and James Joslin (wife Beth Hahn) of Raleigh; 15 grandchildren: Katherine Killough (husband Dmitri Venediktov), Cynthia Killough (husband Tim Ellsworth), Margaret Killough Sherman (husband Mike Sherman), Stella Watson, Randal Watson, II, Daniel Watson, Ellen Medlin, Mary Medlin, Annie Medlin, Joel Joslin, Lydia Joslin, Andy Joslin, Nick Joslin, Sam Joslin, and Madeline Joslin); three great-grandchildren, Emily and Julia Ellsworth, Alex Sherman. He is also survived by faithful family friends and helpers, Owen Kapanga, Grace Song, and Helen Minter.
Bill’s sister, Nell Joslin Styron, predeceased him.
Bill exhibited an extraordinary warmth and bonhomie in all his interactions. He believed that fair elections were the foundation of democracy, and that in order for people to have faith in their government, they must know that their votes were counted and mattered. He loved his wife and family. He loved birds. He loved dogs. He loved his garden, and he loved to be out in the natural world.
We must not only admire his fine example. We must follow it. Go forth, and do likewise.
A celebration for the life of Bill Joslin will be held at Christ Episcopal Church, 120 East Edenton Street, Raleigh, NC at 1:00 P.M., on Saturday, February 5, with a reception to follow in the parish hall.
Memorials may be made to the North Carolina Botanical Garden (www.ncbg.unc.edu), the Triangle Land Conservancy (www.triangleland.org), the North Carolina Nature Conservancy (www.nature.org.northcarolina), the Southern Environmental Law Center (www.southernenvironment.org), Kalmia Gardens of Coker College (www.coker.edu), or to Christ Episcopal Church (www.christ-church-raleigh.org).

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by The News & Observer on Feb. 1, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for William Joslin

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Peter White

February 4, 2011

I find myself torn, as perhaps others are, by feeling Bill's passing a most significant loss and yet feeling admiration for a life so well lived, with so many good deeds left behind.

When Bill was in the room, warmth, good humor, unwavering commitment, and a firmness to do the right thing, not just now but for future generations--those qualities were alway sin the room, too. He brightened the world around him every day, and brightened the world for many that he never met. Thanks to Bill and the Joslin family for all you have done.

Peter White, director, North Caorlina Botanical Garden, Chapel Hill.

Audubon North Carolina

February 4, 2011

Bill was a friend of many at Audubon North Carolina and a great advocate for North Carolina's wild lands and wildlife. We extend our deepest sympathy to his family.

Julia Fallon

February 2, 2011

Deepest sympathy to Will and family.
Your dad was a great man and friend to the McMillan family and to many people.

Julia McMillan Fallon

James Linville

February 1, 2011

What a wonderful, warm, brilliant man. Mary, my heart goes out to you. We were all honored to know Bill, but you most of all. Best wishes and love, James Coker Linville

Katherine Skinner

February 1, 2011

What a wonderful man and statesman Bill was. From the day he actually called me and offered me the job at The Nature Conservancy until now, he served as a mentor to me in advancing lasting conservation in North Carolina. He was active in setting up the Natural Heritage Trust Fund and later serving on its board. He helped with the establishment of the Roanoke River National Wildlife Refuge and he offered sage advice as we worked through thorny issues we faced. I am lucky to have crossed his path and benefitted from his wisdom and kind ways.

Bill Holman

February 1, 2011

Bill Joslin leaves a great legacy of land and water conservation in NC. I recall working with him and the NC Chapter of the Nature Conservancy to establish the Natural Heritage Trust Fund in 1987 and then working with Sen Marc Basnight to dedicate funds from the sale of personalized license plants to fund the Natural Heritage Trust. It was fitting that Bill was appointed to the Board of Trustees of NHTF in later years. Thanks to NHTF and NC's other conservation trust funds about 600,000 acres of land has been conserved in NC since 1999. I also admire his work on behalf of fair elections and othe progressive causes. I will miss seeing him having lunch at the Seaboard Cafe with Mary.

David Bland

February 1, 2011

It was a pleasure to know Bill.

owen kapanga

February 1, 2011

William Joslin,your enormous energy and Passion for social justice that embodied your commitment to give all people to live full,dignified and joyful lives will forever live on.you have been such a blessing to me.my life will never be the same.I thank God for you and your entire family.I know someday,we will meet again.

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