I remember Joe with fondness from our days at Hope College and occasional encounters while we both were at seminary (in different locations). We were part of a great Bible study on the Gospel of Mark that used Joe's own translation. Only four of us attended, but it was one of the best I have ever been part of. I appreciated his presence in the Zwemer dorm we shared with plenty of other fun people.

I first met Kathy Crimp through mutual friends at Hope College while she was working at Pizza Hut. We told each other stories and gossip about our mutual friends, and stayed close, even though we were in different sororities. Joe introduced me to the religion major at Hope College along with his friend, Chuck Myaard. We had a lot of laughs. It was like living in a Monty Python sketch!
One year, soon after Joe and Kathy graduated, I rented a room from them in their first apartment for the summer. Kathy took good care of me when I visited Skyles a little too often. We cooked and complained and budgeted together and laughed hysterically. Thank you Kathy and Joe for being good friends.