Joe Feldman 11/29/1948 - 6/22/2025 – A Much-Loved Man

Joseph Jacob “Joe” Feldman, 76, passed away at home on June 22, 2025, in Mill Valley, California, surrounded by his loving family. Born on November 29, 1948, in Fairfield, Iowa, Joe lived a life defined by laughter, music, compassion, advocacy, and loving devotion to his family.

Joe grew up in a close-knit household in Fairfield Iowa with his parents, the late Morris and Ruth Feldman and his brother Mike. He became an Eagle Scout in 1963, graduated from Fairfield High School as Student Body president in 1967, and went on to earn a degree in drama and education from the University of Iowa in 1971.

Joe began his professional journey as an actor. His performing venues included the Napa Valley Theatre Company, the Ashland Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and the Monster Show Review. His love for the stage and musical theatre was evident in his deep appreciation for storytelling and song.

Joe and Mike’s parents had contracted polio in their youth—a formative experience that deeply influenced Joe’s lifelong commitment to disability rights and education. He became a special education teacher at the Fairfield School in San Francisco. This sparked his desire to help families with disabled children navigate the complex landscape of federal and state laws governing special education. In 1980, Joe founded the Community Alliance for Special Education (CASE), an organization that would become his proudest professional legacy. Under his leadership, CASE provided critical advocacy to help ensure that children with disabilities across the Bay Area receive the educational services and support they needed to thrive. Even after retiring in 2022, Joe’s impact continues through CASE’s ongoing work—a testament to his vision and commitment.

To those who knew him best, however, Joe’s most cherished role was that of husband, father and brother. He is survived by his beloved wife Jill, his sons Josh and Jake, his brother Mike Feldman and sister-in-law Janis Maxwell, as well as hundreds of loving brothers- and sisters-in-law, cousins, and friends.

To call Joe a devoted father would be an understatement—the sun rose and set on Josh and Jake. He was ever-present: the bar mitzvah school carpool dad; the parent who signed them up for little league and soccer; the coach who led his sons’ T-ball teams with gentle encouragement sung from the sidelines. His love of music and sports—especially the Beatles and Bob Dylan, the Golden State Warriors, the SF Giants and the SF 49ers—was woven into daily life. When he was not watching his favorite games or listening to music, you could find Joe in the garden, building hundreds of cairns - rock stacks of immense complexity and beauty.

Joe's love extended far beyond family life. His friendships were deep-rooted and enduring; he cultivated community wherever he went— his childhood friends from Fairfield, his fraternity brothers at the University of Iowa, his colleagues at CASE, his fellow advocates for disability rights, his friends and neighbors in San Francisco and Mill Valley, and his scores of Ullman and Glatzer family relatives throughout the United States.

A memorial service celebrating Joe’s life was held on July 1, 2025, at Fernwood Cemetery in Mill Valley, California, officiated by Rabbi Stacy Friedman of Congregation Rodef Sholom, Joe’s beloved synagogue.

Joe Feldman was a truly remarkable man whose legacy lives on through every child who received a better education because of him—and through every person lucky enough to have known him. A Celebration of Life will be held on Sunday, March 29, 2026.  If you would like to attend, please register on this website at https://everloved.com/life-of….

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