Obituary: JJ Pionke

With sorrow, we share the passing of JJ Pionke on September 21, 2026. JJ was a health sciences librarian, educator, scholar, and dedicated advocate for accessibility and disability justice.

JJ served the health sciences library community in numerous roles, including as president of MLA’s Midwest Chapter, where he led an accessibility initiative to identify and address barriers within the chapter. JJ helped establish and chaired the MLA Accessibility and Disability Caucus and was appointed by the MLA Board to serve on the MLA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Task Force. He also contributed to JMLA as an author and Proceedings co-editor and served with the JMLA Equity Workgroup.

The JJ Pionke Memorial Foundation was established to support the long-term care of JJ’s beloved cats, Savil and Aiden, and to establish a scholarship in his name for an LIS student with disabilities. In lieu of flowers or other gifts, please consider supporting these endeavors in JJ’s memory.