Joseph Henry Gosnell III, died at age 59 in a tragic auto accident in California on Feb. 23, 2000, on his way home to Arizona, where he spent the winters, with his wife, and our classmate, Barb Hoppenrath Gosnell, who died simultaneously with Joe in the same accident.

He was preceded in death by his father, Joseph Gosnell Jr. and mother, Margaret.  He is survived by all of the relatives of his wife Barb.  They are mentioned in the obituary notice for Barb Hoppenrath Gosnell, on this web site.  Additionally, Joe had very close lifelong classmate friends, particularly Bob Erickson, who acted as executor to Joe and Barb's estate -- a process that took many years.

Joe was a U. of M. graduate, a member of Chi Psi Fraternity, and President of Adhesive Label, a company he established and for which he worked for nearly all his life.  He had many devoted employees.  It likely comes as no surprise that Joe was in no hurry to graduate from the University of Minnesota; his close friends just don't know when he did.  Joe and his father started Adhesive Label Company in the mid-1960s, which Joe ran very well until his death in 2000.  This allowed him to pursue his many other interests.

He enjoyed many hobbies including woodworking and hot rods.  He was a member of the Woodworkers Guild and Roadster Hot Rod Club.  His family purchased a large home on Mount Curve Avenue in Minneapolis, which included a carriage house in its original condition, complete with hay-loft and feed bins for the horses.  Joe was single during this project, which took many years and he didn't mind living with the continuous construction.  He had considerable help from our classmates Tim Kiernan, Art Patterson, Bob Erickson and Bob's son Steve.  Upon completion the result was quite impressive.  He designed it in a way so that he could display his large collection of Navaho Art -- mainly rugs.  Joe was a very accomplished wood worker and most of the furniture in his home were items he had made.

Another of Joe's passions was being around and building hot rods.  The last one he completed was built in conjunction with two nationally known hot rod builders in California.  He was in the process of building another with his advisors at the time of his death.  Joe and Barb were on their way back to Arizona from a California meeting regarding the new hot rod when they were involved in a head-on collision as a result of the other vehicle driving the wrong way on a divided highway.  Everyone was killed instantly.  Many of us attended their simultaneous funerals and were appalled at the senseless and tragic manner in which they left us.

Together, Joe and Barb were willing and anxious participants in many class reunion planning committees, and opened up their homes so we could meet together to lay plans for bringing our classmates together periodically.  Joe and Barb would have loved our recent 50th Class Reunion and the great time we all had together.  They are and will continue to be missed by many of us.