Joseph Allan Biesbrock (Missoula ’62)
Posted: February 16, 2025
Joe, 88, died December 4, 2024, in Maineville, Ohio. He was born May 12, 1936, in Chicago, Illinois. Joe was the first in his family to graduate from high school, college, and graduate school. He attended Sioux City Central High School in Iowa, earned a Bachelor of Science in Forestry from Utah State, and completed a PhD in Plant Pathology at the University of Georgia.
Joe served as a Professor in the Biology Department at the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega from 1973 until his retirement in 2000. His passion for the outdoors was evident in his work as a forest ranger, smokejumper, and park ranger in the North Cascades National Park. He cherished hiking the Appalachian Trail and canoeing the rivers of North Georgia. Joe jumped at Missoula during the 1962 season.
Some comments from personal friend Art Mindlin: “Joe was a bit of a recluse/hermit and was known amongst those that worked with him as the “Phantom” of Ross Lake where he held seasonal National Park Service positions at North Cascades for many years. He lived a good number of his NPS seasons on a log float built one-room ranger cabin 10 miles from all other personnel on Ross Lake that was only accessible by boat or a 20-mile hike.
“Joe was a hard worker who keeping up with kept anyone around him at his fast pace. He loved hiking and river running along with doing trail work and was heavily involved with the local area trail and Appalachian Trail communities. Joe lived for many years about 1/2 mile from the hostel that many utilize when starting off for their AT through hikes to Maine. Very long legged, lanky tall, he also had a walking pace, even with a full pack, that was roughly 4 MPH + and would leave most of us in the dust. And did so even into his early 80’s.”
