Joshua Scott Smeiska

June 9th, 1977
September 9th, 1996

The Lord blessed us by granting my wife and I the stewardshipover the spirit and body of Joshua, our son, on June 9th, 1977. He was a joy to us from from the day he was born. He was a happy child, always smiling, always trying to be helpful. As a first child he was wonderful to an inexperienced parent.

As a toddler and young boy he seemed mature beyond his years. His understanding of the world around him was surprisingly deep. His caring an sensitivity to others almost adult-like.

He had an aptitude for art, so I naturally assumed he would take after his father and grandfather in pursuit of a career as an artist. However, as he entered middle school, his true talents emerged and the easel was forgotten. Josh had a talent, a gift, to understand how things work. A machine, a toy, a television, an automobile or an electrical circuit, he could plum it's depth with his understanding and know how it worked. For this reason, Josh became sort of a "Master Tinkerer". He began acquiring a reputation for being able to repair anything.

Our house soon became a warehouse of televisions, VCR's, radios, small engines, appliances- anything mechanical or electrical that someone couldn't seem to get fixed anywhere else. This accumulation got out of control and was often no small point of contention between between him and us. When he entered high school the projects got larger; chain saws, mini-bikes, automobiles,and stereos. When we bought a new house and moved, Josh had more stuff to transport than the rest of the family put together.

Not surprisingly, with high school behind him, he was well on his way to becoming an industrial electrician. Working on the job as an apprentice by day and taking college courses at night. His job had a perfect balance of mechanical and electrical things for him to troubleshoot and fix.

Joshua got his first job delivering newspapers at the age of eleven; he has been gainfully employed ever since. One of Josh's strongest virtues was his strong work ethic. As he moved up from one job to another, each employer was disappointed to see him leave. He never went out for any activity or sport, spending much of his after school hours working on the job, or tinkering in the garage, making plans for the future.

My wife and I always worried about Josh's lack of social activities with others and that he was becoming the classic "workaholic". He was sort of lone wolf. He had few friends, but the ones he had seemed fiercely loyal. We discovered why later on.

Through an unfortunate accident, our stewardship over Joshua was abruptly taken away. He was only 19. A man can drive himself crazy trying to make sense of things like this.

At the hospital near the end, so many people that Josh had touched over the years came forward to be with him. They kept telling us that Josh was the "Happy" guy who always put a spin on every situation. People told us of times he was there to help them through some terrible personal crisis. He was a counselor for his brother. He went out on a limb countless times for anyone that truly was in a desperate situation. He was the fun loving guy who they liked having around.

It would seem that Joshua fixed more than motors and stereos. He was there to help patch a torn relationship, mend a forlorn soul, ease a broken heart.

Whatever his task was in this world that the Lord assigned him, it has been completed; his job is done. He has gone to his eternal reward. They say that our personalities are the sum total of our life's experiences. Josh has made many lives better for the knowing him. For that, he will always be alive in us.

Joshua S Smeiska, age 19, died on Monday, Sept. 9, 1996, at Froederdt Memorial Hospital, from injuries incurred in a dirt bike accident. He was wearing a helmet and other protective equipment. Joshua is survivedby his parents, Skip and Kathy, and his brother Matthew, age 17.

Reprinted from the Waukesha Freeman, a local newspaper in thecity of Waukesha, Wisconsin, September 11, 1996