Probably one of the most significant things to happen this year at the Herald was the loss of Joe Zelnik, long-time editor, and editor emeritus.

Joe’s illness progressed at a rapid rate after his retirement as editor. Nevertheless, he continued to write his column and blog from home and monitor Spout Off right up until the last several days of his life.

His last column, prompted by the rapid progression of his illness was “slugged” (a term we use to identify a file on our computer network) “Joe’s heaven column.” It didn’t get finished before he passed. Joe’s wife Pat provided me with a copy of it, which I treasure.

The column talked about his mother’s illness and passing when he was very young. According to his writing, he first would pray that his mother would get better, then finally that she would be happy in heaven.

By the time his father died, he had no doubt that his father, who was one great guy, had found a home in heaven, and that they, including wife Pat, would eventually be reunited behind the “pearly gates,” but after hearing a homily at church on the Sadducees, he became concerned.

The Sadduccees were an elitist nation of Jews in Biblical times who believed that a person’s soul died with their body. They denied the resurrection of the dead and did not believe in angels.

This was where the column ended, never to be finished. Pat believes that Joe has finished his “heaven column,” even though we will never know the outcome.

I guess we will have to use our imagination as to how the “story ends.” Would Joe have used his sharp wit to provide us with an ending that would find us laughing out loud as many of his columns did?

Or would he have discounted the philosophy of the Sadducees and planned a family reunion in heaven? I think this is how that column would have been concluded.

It may be hard to believe, but Joe possessed a certain sensitivity that most who knew him never saw, and a vulnerability that was endearing (if you got close enough to him to recognize it.)

So, as we bring the year of 2008 to a close, I’d like to say, “Godspeed and Merry Christmas Joe. I know you are up there.”

Nash is copy editor of this newspaper