In Memoriam: Joel W. GregoryAuthor(s): Martin KleinSource: Canadian Journal of African Studies / Revue Canadienne des Études Africaines, Vol.22, No. 1 (1988)Published by: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. on behalf of the Canadian Association of African StudiesStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/485484 .

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In Memoriam: Joel W. Gregory

Joel Gregory died of AIDS on Friday July 29. He was 44 years old and at the peak of a

productive career. He was working on a book on Sahel demography and had just received a large grant to train demographers from the Sahel countries.

Joel was a scholar with an agenda. Like many politically involved intellectuals, he

sought to link thought and action. He succeeded better than most of us. He was con- cerned that demography be more than just an accounting tool. His demography was both materialist and historical and sought to explore more profoundly than others had done the real struggles of people to survive and reproduce themselves. It was as he conceived it, a tool in the struggle for development. His critique of demography, pub- lished in numerous articles and in African Population and Capitalism, edited with Dennis Cordell, has influenced both demographers and historians.

Joel's concern for social justice was reflected not only in advocacy but also in

attempts to build institutions both at home and in Africa. He created a school of Afri- can demography at Montreal. He spent a year at the Institut du Sahel in Bamako and was hoping to train African demographers. He served the Canadian Association of African Studies as editor of its journal, as Vice-President, and as President. Though born in Oregon, he so immersed himself in the world of francophone Montreal that he was elected President of this association as a francophone. He was often a gadfly, always a worker and a colleague who gave freely and openly of himself. He spent much of his last months reading theses and conferring with students who came to his home when he was too weak to go out. The book he never wrote got put aside.

As he sowed, he was fortunate to reap. He died with a sense of having lived a full life. He was a wonderful, caring human being. He shared an affectionate and tender

relationship with Dennis Cordell. Unlike many AIDS victims, he did not die alone. His last days were eased by the support of friends and family.

Joel's remains were cremated. His ashes are in an urn housed at a cemetary on the mountain of the Montreal he loved so much. We are much the richer for having had him among us. We are much the poorer that he left so soon.

Martin Klein, University of Toronto

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