I am shocked and saddened to hear that my friend Jonathan Ocko passed away suddenly yesterday. Jonathan was a professor of history at North Carolina State University, where he specialized in Chinese legal history. We worked together for many years as co-conveners with Ed Balleisen of Triangle Legal History. His work included Bureaucratic Reform in Provincial China and Contract and Property in Modern China. In addition to being a terrific scholar, a terrific reader of papers even those far outside his area of expertise, and a great mentor to everyone around him, Jonathan led the NC State history department for many years. He also taught for many years at Duke law. He earned his Ph.D. in history from Yale. Before moving to NCSU in 1977, Jonathan taught at Clark and Wellesley. Maybe most importantly, he had a great sense of humor. As I learn more about remembrances and memorial services I'll post them.
Update: North Carolina State University has an extended memorial that discusses Jonathan's many accomplishments as a teacher, scholar, and administrator here. And over at Chinese Law Prof blog, Donald Clark has a remembrance of Jonathan.
H/t Ed Balleisen.
I'm very sorry to hear this. He was a warm, spirited, and deeply thoughtful colleague.
I'm really sorry to hear about Professor Ocko's passing. It was always a pleasure talking with him and learning from him.
Jonathan was a colleague and my husband's boss. His life was a testament to how much good one person can do with a strong mind, a kind heart, and a deep sense of loyalty and fairness. It is difficult to express how much we will miss him.
I knew Jon personally, not professionally, though I followed his career with delight. I met him while he was at Trinity and introduced him to my dear friend Aggie. They fell in love at once and theirs was a marriage of lasting happiness. We stayed close over the years despite separations of distance and time. Jon will be deeply missed.
I am among the many who are greatly saddened by Jon's death. He was a classmate and a close friend at Trinity way back in the day, and I treasured his wit, intelligence and cheerfulness. We lost track of each other as our paths diverged, but I miss him nonetheless.
Thanks for posting this note. I am an associate dean at NCSU's College of Humanities and Social Science, and Jonathan was a department head and active scholar well before I joined the faculty here. He was always brimming with ideas and passion for his work and his department. The department's office is just down the hall from mine here at NC State, and it just feels like something is really missing without him there. I will miss him very, very much.