Joseph John Battistone

Joseph John Battistone, 79, of Sandy, UT died peacefully on the morning of Thursday, March 14, 2019, in Salt Lake City, after a 6-month struggle with cancer. He was born July 3, 1939, in New Britain, CT, to Peter Louis and Constantina (Cifalu) Battistone—the second of four boys—and spent his childhood in New England, growing up in a vibrant Italian-American extended family. The family moved to Arizona in the 1950s, where he met the love of his life, Adrienne Louise Hussong, whom he married in Phoenix, AZ, on August 9, 1960. Following collegiate and graduate studies at Arizona State (Tempe, AZ), La Sierra University, (Riverside, CA) Andrews University (Berrien Springs, MI), and Harvard (Cambridge, MA), Joe completed doctoral work at Duke University Divinity School (Durham, NC), earning a PhD in Biblical Studies in 1968. His early professional life included a faculty appointment in the Department of Religion at Andrews University, but like the theologians he found most inspiring—Martin Luther, Karl Barth, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and Reinhold Niebuhr—he was first and foremost a minister, serving as a pastor to numerous Seventh-Day Adventist congregations in North Carolina, Seattle, and Salt Lake City. But most important of all to Joe was his family. There was no achievement of his own that brought him greater pleasure or pride than even the smallest accomplishments of his children and grandchildren. Nothing brought him greater joy than spending time with us—telling stories, playing games, making pizza and cinnamon rolls—and teaching us all through his words and actions the two most important truths: that God is love, and that everything is in His hands. He is survived by Adrienne (his loving wife of 58 years); his son Michael (Salt Lake City) and daughter Rochelle (Nakanishi) (Susanville, CA) and grandchildren Benjamin (20), Nathaniel (18), Kaitlyn (17), Carolina (16), Natalie (15), and Jessica (13). The family expresses sincere appreciation to the faculty and staff of the University of Utah, the Huntsman Cancer Center, and Promise Hospital, for the outstanding care throughout his illness. Profound gratitude is expressed to Dr. Barry Stults, Joe’s primary care physician and friend, and to Dr. Wallace Akerley, Joe’s oncologist, who provided superb care during this difficult time. In particular, we also want to recognize the many interns, residents, fellows, and attending physicians, as well as the countless nurses, aides, therapists, and other providers, who all served tirelessly, and were a constant source of encouragement. You should know that Joe frequently described your labor in spiritual language, referring to this as a “ministry” (in addition to the “thumbs up”)—there was no higher praise from him than this. A celebration of his life will be held Tuesday, June 11, 2019, at 5:30 in the Fort Douglas Post Chapel on the University of Utah campus. In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Huntsman Cancer Institute or the University of Utah in his honor.

Joseph John Battistone

July 3, 1939 - March 14, 2019