Obituary of Joel Maxwell

Joel Maxwell, age 90 of Ansonia, CT, died peacefully on February 15, 2021 at Griffin Hospital with his family by his side.  Born in Brooklyn, NY on May 29, 1930, he was the son of the late Ruben Berman and Florence Goldberg Berman.  Mr. Maxwell was a graduate of the Pratt Institute of Brooklyn, NY where he studied Industrial Design.  He was a proud U.S. Army Veteran of the Korean War, serving as a Corporal in the Communications Corps located in Long Island City, NY.  He enjoyed a long career as a commercial photographer as head of the Audio/Visual Dept. of the J.C. Penny Co. in NYC.  He later owned and operated his own commercial photography studio and performed as a voice over narrator and radio host in the radio entertainment industry.  In his retirement, Mr. Maxwell worked for The Home Depot in Westchester, NY and Derby CT, where he was known as the sage of the Electrical Department.  He was well known to many customers as the guy who knew everything and was highly respected by his coworkers and customers as he worked from his electric scooter.  He was a lifelong artist, particularly fond of sketching and accumulated a large collection of original pieces.  When not drawing, Mr. Maxwell would tinker with his model railroad or assemble model cars. Although he had talents too numerous to list, his favorite was to perform in community musical theatre.  He played many leading and supporting roles over the years with playhouses in Westchester County, NY.  He is survived by his son, Roy Maxwell of Voorhees Township, NJ, his devoted daughters, Andrea Harvey and her husband Keith Harvey of Ansonia, CT, Sharon Maxwell-Yamamoto and her husband Yoshito Yamamoto of Ansonia, CT, and cherished grandchildren, Brooke Smalls of White Plains, NY and Tyler Logan of Ansonia, CT.  He was predeceased by his younger sister, Rita Lehman.  A graveside funeral service will take place at 2 PM, on Friday, February 19, 2021, in the Pine Grove Cemetery, 15 Church St., Ansonia, CT.  Memorial contributions may be made to Disabled American Veterans at www.DAV.org.  The Wakelee Memorial Funeral Home, 167 Wakelee Avenue, Ansonia, is in care of arrangements.  Online condolences may be made at www.wakeleememorial.com.