Sensitive, humble, kind, risk taker, hard-working.
Jacob was raised in St. Leonard, Maryland and had two sisters Casey and Amber, a brother Nick and two stepsisters, Allison and Julianne, his mother, Ginger Rosela, stepfather, Tony Rosela and father, Gary Paddy.
He loved nature. His mother Ginger said he never met a living creature he didn’t care for, recalling the time when he was 10 years old and witnessed a squirrel get hit by a car. He rescued it and begged his mother to take the squirrel to a vet clinic nearby. The squirrel could not be saved, but the doctor told Jacob’s mother that she never saw a child with so much compassion.
“Jake,” as he was called, loved to speed on his bicycle and his four-wheeler on a handmade track near his home. Unfortunately, his love of racing led to a nasty bicycle accident when he was 16 years old, breaking his foot and requiring surgery.
He was prescribed Percocet for pain and had to be home schooled for five months. During his recovery his family saw he had become dependent on pills. After a 30-day treatment program in Baltimore, Jake lived in a sober house and attended 12-Step meetings.
Jake graduated from Calvert High School in 2008 and worked with his father as a tire technician on commercial tractor trailer rigs at McCarthy Tire in Hughesville.
In the spring of 2010 Jake was involved in a traffic accident, but he fled the scene. Police caught him and charged him with driving while intoxicated. He spent six months in Calvert County Detention Center. He was two years sober after getting out of jail.
Then in the spring of 2013 Jake had an accident with his four-wheeler that required another surgery. Jake told the doctors he was in recovery when they prescribed him a pain killer following surgery. However, doctors said it wouldn’t be a problem for the few days that was needed. So he took them and went back to work, switching soon to a non-narcotic pill; but the damage was done.
Ginger said that’s when Jake began using heroin because it was cheaper than pills. Six weeks later Jake overdosed and died.
Jake’s death has inspired Ginger to get involved in fighting the drug epidemic. Ginger is now a peer support specialist working with Maryland Coalition of Families. She serves Anne Arundel, Calvert and Prince Georges counties in Maryland and has been on her job for three years. She is also a certified naloxone trainer and testifies on drug-related legislation in Annapolis when needed. “I helped get the Good Samaritan Law passed in Maryland in 2014,” Ginger said.
“I’ve kept my promise to Jake. I help someone daily.”
Jake’s mother, Ginger, provided the information for this narrative.
Feb. 21, 1990 – July 19, 2013
Age 23
Lived with addiction for 7 years.
