SFCC has lost one of its seasoned instructors and long-standing department chairs.

Max Josquin passed away Nov. 27 after a 2 1⁄2 year struggle with cancer. Josquin had been a computer science/information systems instructor at SFCC since 1998.

Prior to his time at SFCC, he worked in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, as a system/ network administrator for the Coeur d’Alene school district, as an instructor at Eastern Washington University and North Idaho College, and as an instructor at the French-Japanese Institute of Tokyo for the French Ministry of Culture.

“Max was from Bayonne, France, as he liked to remind me,” Thomas Wear, an Information Technology professional who graduated from the SFCC program and was a previous student of Josquin, said in an email. “The home of the bayonet.”

Josquin became a full-time instructor in 2000. His bio on the SFCC website states one of his main goals in his position was to increase the enrollment and retention of female students in the IT program at SFCC.

“Max was an inspiring teacher,” said Jim Brady, the dean of computing, math, and science at SFCC. “Helping his students learn, guiding their plans and inspiring their goals and dreams.

“He was also loved by those of us who worked with him for his endless positive outlook. His impact as the chair of the department and for being Max.”

Josquin recently received an Advanced Technological Education grant from the National Science Foundation.

“Before each class Max would say, ‘Good morning geeks,’ ” Wear wrote. “I am a better IT person than I would have been without having met Max Josquin.”

Josquin’s services will be held on Saturday, December 15th on the SFCC campus in the music auditorium at 1:00 pm. Services will be followed by a potluck in the Student Union Building.

“He was a tireless advocate for his students, his instructors and his program,” Brady said. “He will be missed for a very long time and never forgotten.”