A precious Joel

The report coming as The Journal's Deadline approached last Wednesday made me heart sick. Joel McLin had fallen to his death on a solo climb up Mount Washington. One of the most extraordinary kids I'd ever met had left this world at age 22.

You couldn't find a happier youngster than Joel. I never saw him without a smile. His constant grin as a boy led to the nickname "Smiley." That smile was genuine, as was his desire to befriend strangers, even those over the hill such as myself. In my first conversations with him while he was in high school I was taken by his kindness, enthusiasm and maturity. As a college roommate said in a eulogy on Tuesday, people loved to be with him. The reasons were evident in your first few minutes with him.

He had so much God-given talent I couldn't wait to see what his future held. His pure tenor voice carried him from singing with his musical family to The Illusions at Shelton High School to an SHS musical to a European tour with a youth choir to Olympic College's top jazz choir to a leading role in The Merry Widow at Olympic to Wheaton College's choir in Illinois. Randy Endicott, principal of Mason County Christian School when Joel attended eighth grade there, said in just one year Joel became one of the teachers' favorites. And he personally vouches for that show-stopping voice. He said Joel's rendition of "The Lord's Prayer" at his daughter's wedding was the highlight of the ceremony. That song was recorded at the wedding, and Joel ended his own memorial service on Tuesday with a reprise.

Joel's musical life began early. His parents said he whistled in the crib and soon his father was whistling a classical tune with him. He started the violin at 4 and later played other instruments. He performed with orchestras. I was first floored by his talent and stage presence when he played Cinderella's Prince in the SHS musical Into the Woods as a junior, the same year he was elected class president. A few months later I took a picture of him as the 1998 Forest Festival Paul Bunyan.

He moved on to Running Start at Olympic College in Bremerton his senior year. By the end of that year he'd been elected as a representative in student government at the college, sung with Jazzline and been inducted into the college's honor society. The gregarious nature that drew people like a magnet led to his later election as student body president at OC.

The deeply religious guy had a lust for life that his friends envied. Joel was so talented and had so many interests that there wasn't enough time in a day for him to do all the things he wanted to do. He loved all sorts of music, swing and tap dancing, sports and everything to do with the outdoors, from backpacking and mountaineering to sailing, skiing and canoeing. He knocked off half a dozen mountains one summer with friends. He was a born writer and poet and loved the Scriptures.

In the summer of 1999 he waited tables by day in Glacier National Park, sang and acted at night in a cabaret and hiked whenever he could. At Wheaton he left campus at every chance to explore another state's natural wonders or take a trip to Chicago for an opera, ballgame or rollerblading along the water front. In the Windy City he met a homeless man he provided with Christmas presents after soliciting donations door to door in Wheaton. An Army Reserve Officer Training Corps cadet at Wheaton, Joel was to become a lieutenant at graduation next year. He often spent his ROTC stipend for food for the homeless in Chicago. An officer who spoke Tuesday said Joel's death was a loss for the Country as well as for his family and friends.

His friends realized he didn't really belong inside. One of his college roommates said Joel would comment, "It's a beautiful day outside," whether it was raining, snowing or sunny. He once went out in a driving Midwest rainstorm for an hour just to enjoy the experience and come back soaked to the skin with a smile on his face. We could learn from Joel how to never waste a beautiful day.

When you read the entry in his "wilderness journal" from just a month ago, April 19, as he sad outdoors in the Bluegrass State, you realize why he preferred to live outdoors:

Wheresoever I go, Thou art with me! This great land of Kentucky, where Daniel Boone trudged his happy days through its wilderness, has graciously offered us a high cliff hollow of the most premium quality for our night's stay. Spring has finally triumphed over Winter's ruthless pursuit, and the fragrance of new birth fills the woods. Each infant leaf has burst from its casing and spread its arms in the strength of the season--exalting the Creator from its proper post. The voice of the birds contains the very substance of joy, and the ancient cliffs echo God's pleasure. My soul is awakened and stretches in the spaces of such newness and promise. My Lord is faithful to work the same miracle of renewal of my soul as overcomes all of Creation in the new season. The impact of God's testimony of life all around me charges my smile so that it cannot reach a happier expression. I praise God that I am welcome among His works, and I desire to live as naturally in the spirit of worship as the rest of Creation.

Joel Mclin was one of those young people who give me faith in the next generation. The next generation has lost one of its most beautiful and joyful voices.

--CG
 

Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, May 22, 2003