Joshua Akiba Keidan

Joshua Akiba Keidan was born in Stamford, CT on July 23, 1975. He spent his childhood and school years in Connecticut, Massachusetts and New Jersey. He participated in a number of Model UN debates and developed a passion for politics which led him to The Elliott School of International Affairs at The George Washington University. He was a staunch supporter of Israel and spent his Junior Year at Hebrew University. While at GW he dove into the political waters starting with working on Elizabeth Dole's campaign for the Republican nomination for President. Politics, it turned out was more fun to debate than to participate in, so after graduating, Josh switched his focus to teaching. Josh spent some time in high school as an exchange student in Japan. This kindled a fascination with the Far East. Josh taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in South Korea, China and Thailand. He developed into a passionate and caring teacher. A keen observer of local customs, he became very involved with the local communities. He loved children and he made friends easily. He volunteered at an orphanage and hosted dinners to allow friends to practice their English. He taught ESL at Rice University for a brief period, before turning back to teaching abroad. He taught at the University of Erbil in the Kurdish part of Iraq. Erbil was removed from the fighting, and the Kurds he met were proud of the history of the Jews in that region. Our family has some Kurdish roots, and Josh was welcomed at the University almost like a member of the family. Joshua was a life-long fan of the Boston Red Sox and the New England Patriots. He developed an early fascination with professional wrestling, even keeping up with the intrigue and vendettas built around the wrestlers. This love led him to joining his high school wrestling teams in Newton, MA and Summit, NJ, where he wrestled successfully in the heaviest weight class. Years later, while in Vietnam, a friend was exploring ways to bring the WWE to Vietnam. Josh enjoyed working on that plan. Josh went to Israel as often as he could. First on family trips where he met close friends from the Bombay Jewish Baghdadi community who had made Aliyah. In addition to his year at Hebrew University, he volunteered in a support program for the IDF. When illness cut his IDF program short, he volunteered with Magen David Adom in Hadera. They told him that he had broken the record for the number of volunteer emergency calls by a non-Israeli. He was really proud of that. In 2016, Josh went to Vietnam to continue his teaching career. Sadly, he suffered kidney failure in 2017, and was on dialysis in Vietnam until August 2021. He returned to the US, initially to Tacoma, WA and then on to Palm Desert California where his mother lives. After a long struggle he chose to stop dialysis. He passed away on May 22, 2022. Joshua is survived by his parents, Melinda donLuekin and Brian Keidan, and by his brother Ben Keidan. He also leaves behind loving uncles, aunts, a nephew, cousins and many long time friends.

Joshua Akiba Keidan

July 23, 1975 - May 22, 2022