Joel Lerner

Joel Lerner passed away after a three-year battle with cancer on November 7, 2026. He was born in Washington D.C. on November 5, 1952 and retired in Durham in 2018.

Joel is survived by his extraordinary loving wife, Frances Pelzman, her great children, Laura Coman (Court) and Greg Liscio (Soraya), by his outstanding son, Michael Lerner (Daisy), incredible granddaughters Crystal and Amber, by his awesome daughter Andrea Miller (James), exceptional grandsons Seth and Graham, by his wonderful sister Marsha Teichman (Kevin) and his amazing twin sister, Irene Stone (Ron).

Joel graduated from Duke University in 1974 with a B.A. in History and obtained a Juris Doctor degree from Emory University in 1978. He worked as a litigation attorney with the Office of General Counsel (“OGC”), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, for 40 years. He spent his last 13 years as a member of the Senior Executive Service, managing the Department’s Regional legal office in New York City in the role of Regional Chief Counsel. He was skilled in administrative and federal litigation particularly involving the Medicare program, grants, contracts and employment law disputes. At the end of his career, Joel took on additional duties, chairing the National OGC Leadership Development Council and the National OGC Training Committee.

Joel was a quiet individual who pursued many interests. His biggest passion was reading history books on such subjects as early America, the Civil War, ancient history and medieval history. He also enjoyed reading about evolution, the history of religion and he squeezed in some modern fiction. Additionally, Joel enjoyed playing guitar and banjo (though he claimed he was never ready for prime time), horseback riding and playing chess and golf (reminding everyone that golf written backwards spelled “flog”). Joel owned 4 motorcycles during his lifetime including his beloved 1100cc Yamaha Silverado. Upon retirement, he engaged in volunteer work, including serving on the Board of the Friends of the Durham Library, interviewing students as a Covid contact tracer for Duke University, and acting as a Poll Observer. Joel was a huge fan of Duke football and basketball. He also was an expert at lawn care. He never saw a lawn he couldn’t turn lush green and weed free. Finally, anyone who knew Joel was exposed to his unique sense of humor.

Joel’s biggest joy in life was his wife, Fran, and his wonderful children, grandchildren, sisters, daughter-in-law, son-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. They filled him with overwhelming love and joy and he was so proud of them all. A family filled with love is his legacy.

A memorial service will be held at Hall-Wynne on December 12 at 11:00 am. 

The family is under the care of Hall-Wynne Funeral Service, Inc.