Joel "Tin Hip" Shechter

Joel “Tin Hip” Shechter, 81, passed away on January 19, 2022, at Providence St. Patrick Hospital. Alav ha-shalom. Joel was born into a Jewish family on February 1, 1940, in Philadelphia. He lived in several cities across the country, battling scorpions in Austin, cockroaches in Titusville, and persistent rain and traffic in the Seattle area. Joel lived in Missoula for more than 20 years and was a Montana native at heart. “Tin Hip” was a proud member of the Sapphire Mountain Men. He was also an enthusiastic patron of the arts who found joy in supporting local Montana painters and podcasters, as well as Bitterroot Baroque and the Missoula Symphony. One of his favorite activities was wandering the Saturday farmers’ markets, munching on fresh green onions and radishes from the vendors and checking out local pottery, baked goods, and other arts and crafts. Joel had doctorate degrees in business and geography. He put his skills to work for General Electric, supporting NASA, then teaching at Idaho State University, and he retired from The Boeing Company. Joel was a lifelong learner and staunch supporter and patron of the University of Montana’s MOLLI program for continued education. He spent most of his life researching Lewis and Clark’s exploration of the Louisiana Purchase and the Pacific Northwest. Joel was passionate about history and historical reenactment and thoroughly enjoyed sharing his knowledge with others. In his later years, Joel’s favorite activity was donning period clothing and setting up his historical display at the Lolo Pass Visitor Center, talking to people from all over the world when they stopped at the station. Joel is survived by his children, Autumn Falls and Jeffrey Shechter, and his grandson, Evan Falls Hjort. “Oh Montana, give this child a home. Give him a love of a good family and a woman of his own. Give him a fire in his heart, give him a light in his eyes, Give him the wild wind for a brother and the wild Montana skies. ” ~Wild Montana Skies, John Denver