FOG BLOG CANADA LOG: MENDELSON JOE, ARTIST , SINGER , SONGWRITER DIES OF PARKINSON'S AT 78!

Longtime artist Mendelson Joe dies at 78 after living with Parkinson’s disease EMSDALE, Ont. - Mendelson Joe, a singer-songwriter, longtime activist and artist whose works focused on political and social commentary, has died at the age of 78.

Joe’s wife, Karen Robinson, confirmed he died Feb. 7 at his home in Emsdale, Ont., north of Toronto, through Canada’s medical assistance in dying after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease more than five years ago.

In a self-penned obituary published on his website, Joe said Parkinson’s was a “dead end” for him and thanked Canada for allowing medical assistance in dying, adding it was a “sign of a civilized society.”

“Medically speaking, I’m shaking and rattling ... the Parkinson’s interrupts my creative flow of writing, painting and making music to say the least,” wrote Joe.

Born Birrell Josef Mendelson in Toronto, Joe began his decades-long artistic career in 1964 and later teamed up with guitarist Mike McKenna to form the blues band McKenna Mendelson Mainline.

The two met after McKenna put out a newspaper ad looking for bandmates.

McKenna recalled his first phone conversation with Joe where he chastised McKenna for being so “naive” to put a call out in a newspaper.

“Nevertheless, there was immediate magic when we played the blues together, and we went on to be extremely close as both friends and collaborators,” McKenna said in an emailed statement.