Obituary of Joseph Herschel Brochin

Joey was born and raised in North Minneapolis, home of Brochin’s, the family delicatessen, and attended Willard Elementary, Lincoln Junior High and North High School before matriculating at the University of Minnesota. While still in college he single-handedly managed and operated Brochin’s for a summer so his parents, Ben and Bernice, could take a hard earned and much postponed vacation. He served as a writer and editor for the U of M Department of Social Work and in 1968 became a counselor for the State of Minnesota Division of Rehabilitation Services (DVR), a position he held for the next twenty-four years. For the first twelve years with DVR Joey worked at the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center where he specialized in working with people with severe and persistent mental illness. Known for his compassion and empathy he participated on treatment teams, directed psychodrama, relaxation and stress management, reentry groups and did individual psychotherapy. In 1980 he relocated to Minneapolis where he served people in residential treatment and community support programs. Becoming a Licensed Social Worker in 1989, he opened a psychotherapy private practice in 1992. Joey is remembered as a truly gentle and compassionate soul whose prime directive was to help others and participate as a responsible citizen of the community. As such he served on the boards of directors of the Cedar Riverside People’s Center where he also volunteered eight hours a week as a counselor, the West Bank Community Development Corporation, the Seward Neighborhood Group and the New Riverside Café. In 1970 Joey was one of the founders of The Meditation Center and served in various capacities from vice chair to membership director to coordinator of teacher training for the next several years. During this time he developed his own observance of yoga and meditation which he later expanded upon to include holistic healing and homeopathic medicine. In the 1990s Joey began participating in peacemaking circles in North Minneapolis after attending training with First Nations people in the Yukon which began his passion for restorative justice. Experiencing the process for difficult conversations and their impact inspired Joey to bring restorative practices to his home community in South Minneapolis. He was one of the founders of Seward Longfellow Restorative Justice in 2004 and a Seward neighborhood restorative justice circle with the focus of providing support for neighbors experiencing conflict as well as creating community. Joey’s vision and advocacy of restorative justice made an impact far beyond his own neighborhood. Joey is missed and mourned by a large group of dear friends, cousins, nieces and nephews, and the many people in whose lives he was able to effect some small, or large, improvement. He is survived by his wife, Gina Herring; his brother and sister-in-law, Jeremy Brochin and Rina Spicehandler; stepson and daughter-in-law, Morgan and Monica DuShane; granddaughter and partner, Amity Thompson and Dan Handy; grandson and partner, Conor DuShane and Marjorie Davis; grandson and partner, Damian Thompson and Esther Matet; great grandchildren Nicolas Madalyn and Ava Handy, Magnus DuShane, Joseph Thompson and Aviva Saunders; and dear friend Nancye Belding. There was no funeral at Joey’s request and shiva has been held.