Hirsch, Joseph A.

Joseph Hirsch passed away at his home in East Rochester, New York on June 21st, 2022 at the age of 57. He was the father of his much-loved sons Lucas Hirsch and Tristan Hirsch, the most important part of his life and his pride and joy. Their strong, playful, and loving bond was evident to all who saw them together. Joe is also survived by his mother, Linda Hirsch, and siblings Jack Hirsch, Sarah Hirsch (Steve Miller), and  Susan Hirsch (John Hesch). He is predeceased by his father Clarence Hirsch and his former wife Karen (Casey) Carlsen.

Joe attended Chatard High School in Indianapolis. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in Journalism and Molecular Biology from Indiana University in Bloomington he went on to receive a Master of Arts in Writing and Publishing from Emerson College in Boston. He met his wife Casey while there. They had their first son, Lucas, early in their married life in Brooklyn, NY. They moved to Rochester in 2005, where a couple of years later they had Tristan. Joe was devoted to taking care of his sons; his love for them was clear. Joe’s family will always remember him playing basketball and soccer with them, writing late into the night with them happily crawling all over him, and always being game to star in funny videos directed by them. He shared his love of travel with the boys and took them to France, Canada, and all over the United States, trying to let them put their foot in every state. 

Joe was a lifelong learner, a deep thinker, and an easy person to talk to. He was loving and kind, with a warm heart and an awesome laugh. He was genuinely curious about what you thought, and was ready to share what he had learned, whether the topic was medicine, socio-political forces, or the movies.

Always physically active and ready to support those in need, Joe served as a Red Cross Disaster Action Team volunteer for many years. He responded to disasters to evaluate damage and help find housing for those impacted by fires and floods. He loved open-water swimming and was trained to do Red Cross water rescue. He joked with his siblings about it being a reality check to put on the neoprene suit.

He was the chief medical writer for the BioScience division of Edelman Public Relations which provided many opportunities for continuous learning and world travel. During his 25 year career he attended international conferences and interviewed scientists in cities as far flung as Paris, Jerusalem, Prague, and Istanbul. One of his team members shared that 

Joe was the most stalwart, loyal, and dedicated colleague. He was a brilliant writer, and was never afraid to tackle any assignment—from the ridiculous to the sublime. From Huggies diapers to a complicated description of gene therapy—Joe was THE man. In fact, we had a saying around BioScience: if an impossible writing project came our way, we would say, ‘Ask Joe Hirsch. He can do it.’ Joe graciously accepted any assignment and gave it his all. Joe loved traveling to meetings far and wide, as our on-site science writer. Everyone loved working with him.

Another colleague says

He brought science to life and made it easy to understand with colorful metaphors and brilliant descriptions that made complex ideas simple.  He was almost poetic in the way he wrote – the sign of a sensitive, highly creative, thoughtful, brilliant, and considerate mind… He was, simply put, the top choice of writer and thinker by every team he worked with and a valued friend to all who knew him.

Many others have said he was a “true brother” to them all. When he died, his whole department was given time off to grieve as he was so deeply missed. 

There will be a memorial service on July 30th at 4:00 pm ET at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Indianapolis on 43rd St. 

Memorial contributions may be made to Joe’s sons’ 529 college funds at Ugift529.com.

(Tristan’s Ugift account # is R8W-W4P)

(Lucas’ Ugift account # is F3P-W2V)