After his husband was murdered by a mentally ill neighbor, he became a champion for getting people with mental health issues the help that they need.

Becoming Wilkinson

In Joseph's own words:
"I grew up in a large Catholic Family in the 60s and 70s. My family has a long history of depression, suicide and addiction and I not only navigated my parent’s battles, but as an adult lived with my own. I started singing as a child and at the age of 13 sang with the MN Orchestra in the nationally known Metropolitan Boy’s Choir. I met my husband during my 40th birthday weekend and married him on my 43rd Birthday. He told me the first night we met that he had a mental illness, but he was managing it successfully. I was profoundly and deeply in love with him throughout our marriage and I think he felt the same about me. Two weeks after we took our 16th Anniversary roadtrip vacation, he was murdered by our mentally ill neighbor. My life exploded and I almost killed myself with alcohol. Luckily, with mass amounts of support I sobered up and dealt with my grief by helping to pass historic mental health legislation in the state of MN. I formed a foundation in my husband’s name (ThePaulJamesPfeiferFoundation.org) to advocate for those suffering with a mental illness and use my lifelong passion for singing and story telling to raise $ for that foundation. I continue to live in MN, but also own a home in Palm Springs (paradise) California".
More info: http://www.thepauljamespfeiferfoundation.org
Photo: Copyright Wilkinson/2024
Opening and closing music courtesy the very talented Zakhar Valaha via Pixabay.
To contact Wilkinson- email him at [email protected]