MATTINGLY, Joseph Sherril 1946 - 2023

MATTINGLY, BAYLISS, BEAUDOIN, PERKETT, GAUDETTE, BOWE, BURNS, PLAMONDON

Posted By: Joey Stark
Date: 9/10/2023 at 13:44:13

"Southeast Iowa Union / Fairfield Ledger"
Friday, September 1, 2023
Page 6, Column 2

JOSEPH SHERRIL MATTINGLY
Traverse City, Michigan

Joseph Sherril MATTINGLY began his life the morning of July 7, 1946 at Harper Hospital in Detriot, Michigan, and completed it on the afternoon of August 8, 2023, at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City, Michigan. The flow of that life for those 77 years was textured and rich, with a broad range and a very deep reach.

A gift for language and communication, both written and spoken, along with a delightful sense of humor, playfulness, and emotional and intellectual engagement were notable features of Joe's everyday life, while some of his greatest loves were music, Morocco, and meditation.

From piano lessons beginning at the age of six, throughout seven decades Joe's musical life thrived, even if internally in the mind and heart, when no pianos were available. He produced some exquisite original work that has yet to be published and shared: quiet solo piano pieces as well as very lively, complicated, rhythmic pieces--sometimes using software to transform the piano notes into sounds of traditional instruments from a variety of cultures.

Peace Corps service from 1967-1969 introduced Joe to Morocco, and he fell in love with its land and language, culture and people. That love was lifelong, also. He went back to Morocco on a number of occasions, including a semester teaching at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane. Throughout his life he recognized the value of the extraordinary education his Peace Corps experience had offered him--especially given the companionship of particularly stimulating American colleagues--in learning to let go of his American identity and bias in order to internalize his experience of Morocco more fully.

But the greatest love, and the most important to him, was his love of meditation. He was introduced to the Transcendental Meditation (TM) technique (brought from the Himalayas by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi) in August of 1972 by a high school friend who had trained as a teacher of it. For the five decades following, Joe participated in many advanced courses. He was qualified as a teacher of the technique at the completion of the intensive teacher-training course he took in Arosa, Switzerland, in 1975. Students enjoyed his lively, yet relaxed, teaching style. More advanced courses followed, and Joe took great delight in pursuing his twice-daily practice of the TM advanced program for the rest of his life. He credited the practice for the huge personal growth he experienced, including the breadth and depth of knowledge he acquired.

In 1980 Joe's domestic life began with a small, simple wedding to Victoria BAYLISS at St. Wenceslaus Church in Gill's Pier, Michigan, on June 16. Throughout his life, that domestic connection led to a long affiliation with relatives and friends in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He enjoyed, as well, an abiding connection to many friends and colleagues in the Fairfield, Iowa, community surrounding Maharishi International University (MIU), where he had taught classes and where he and his wife spent much time. In 1996, they were able to buy their first and only house on a beautiful piece of property on Arbutus Lake, near Traverse City, Michigan, much to his delight.

Joe entered the English Language and Literature program at the Rackham School of Graduate Studies of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor in the Fall of 1980, and received his Ph.D. in December of 1986. By then, he had already begun his career by teaching in Egypt under the auspices of the Fullbright program. Employment at universities in the United States, Oman, Guam, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain made up the bulk of his academic teaching career.

After leaving his last full-time academic job in 2003, Joe was able to fulfill his longtime wish "to look at the same tree for twenty years."

Joe is survived by his wife, Victoria; his brother, Robert MATTINGLY (Nancy BEAUDOIN) in Maine; his sister, Fran PERKETT, in Traverse City, Michigan; his nieces and nephews, Drew PERKETT and the MATTINGLYs: Michael, David, Francis, Philip, Amy GAUDETTE, Matthew, Ann BOWE, and Paul; and numerous great-nieces and -nephews. Joe was predeceased by his parents, Sherril Arthur MATTINGLY and Frances Amy (BURNS); his sister, Marjorie PLAMANDON; and his brother, David, who died in infancy.

Private celebrations of life are being held for family and friends.

Beacon Cremation & Funeral Service, Covell-Traverse City Chapel, is in charge of arrangements. www.beaconfh.com

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*Transcribed for genealogy purposes; I have no relation to the person(s) mentioned.

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