Died peacefully at home in Santa Barbara April 22, 2013 at the age of 93. Born in San Francisco April 13, 1920, Joseph demonstrated a keen interest in music at an early age. As a young man, he played oboe and English horn in various bands and orchestras in the San Francisco Bay area.
In 1943 Joseph moved to southern California to attend college at UCLA declaring a major in music. He later changed his focus and earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1948. Joseph pursued postgraduate studies at UC Berkeley, culminating in his doctorate in psychology in 1953. With his Ph.D. in hand, he moved east to work as an instructor at Princeton University. Joseph then turned his attention toward clinical psychology and completed a fellowship in clinical psychology in Chicago. Joseph completed post-doctoral research at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, Md. Subsequently, Joseph served on the faculties of Stanford University and Case Institute of Technology.
In 1981, Joseph moved to Santa Barbara where he served as program director and then chair of the psychology program at the Fielding Institute until his retirement in 1991. He was co-founder of the Santa Barbara Gestalt Training Institute. Joseph was a passionate lover of opera, symphony and theater. He leaves behind his loving wife of 31 years, Isabel Fredericson. Joseph is survived by eight children, Dennis, Joel, Josephine, Lucretia, Zena, Ismailia, Michael, and Anthony, and grandchildren and great-grandchildren. He will be greatly missed by friends and family alike.
