LEWISTON – Joel Goggins, 55, from GIST, on Sept. 25, 2022, despite valiant efforts and dedicated adherence to treatment protocols that may at times have slowed the progress of the illness, but never eradicated it. Cancer did not define Joel and he chose to fight the disease quietly and privately, in his own way. He maintained his independence and dignity to the end.

Joel was a kind hearted and generous individual who especially enjoyed spending time in the woods, cutting and trimming trees and clearing brush. For a number of years he was employed by Lucas Tree Experts in Lewiston as an arborist.

Joel graduated in 1985 from Simsbury High School in Connecticut and also attended the University of Maine at Orono from 1988 to 1991. As a young man, he helped out in the milking parlor at Tulmeadow Farm in West Simsbury, Conn. Joel was a natural around animals, an excellent caretaker, and they appreciated his gentle nature. He was extremely bright, and this intelligence, combined with a natural wit, made for a rare sarcastic humor. Joel contributed much to the lives of his loved ones and he is greatly missed.

He is survived by his mother, Mary Werthman, of Simsbury, Conn.; his sister, Daria Goggins of Maine, and his sister, Mary John Potter, of Southwick, Mass.

Joel was predeceased by his brother, Mark; and his father, John.