Beautiful, energetic, loving, giving, determined
Joey’s parents remember him as loud and hysterical, with lots of energy. After a long, exhausting day at Disneyland, he was the one who wanted to know what came next. Joey was mischievous. He put soap in his little brother’s spaghetti or put Cheetos into his sibling’s noses or ears when they were sleeping. And there was the time that he changed the password on his dad’s phone and put a screensaver image of a little kid with green slime coming out of his nose. Despite his dad’s intentions to reprimand him for it, he would soon laugh right along with the charismatic Joey.
Because of his intelligence and ADD, Joey got bored in school. Not responding well to traditional teaching methods of simply listening, he was kinesthetic, needing to move around and engage. He once hacked into the school’s computer system and set up a fake classroom for a Mr. Chinchilla, the type of pet he wanted. There were many parent-teacher conferences because of his boredom.
Joey was a natural athlete. He was good at anything he attempted and he was a starter for the Yorba Linda Coyotes. He loved hockey and was voted the number one enforcer of a state championship-winning team. At 13, Joey’s dad started showing him how to work out. “He surpassed me by miles. Joey got really big and really strong,” his father, Gino, said. Joey rode his bike to the gym six days a week to fulfill his cardio and then worked out for one to two hours. At 6 feet and 220 pounds, and with his rigorous workouts, he could eat a lot of food. “I would go to reheat some pasta for dinner and find the leftovers were gone,” his father said. Joey especially loved barbequed ribs and chicken, and cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.
Joey and his younger siblings, Anthony and Destiny, got along great. Joey and Anthony played video games together, hung out, and shared their favorite music. He was very protective of his younger sister, who he called “Pestiny.” Time together with the family at a cabin in the mountains was always a great time, as was swimming in the Cenotes in Cancun. Joey’s chief attribute was his big heart. Bringing joy to others brought joy to him. He and his dad were best friends and Joey would often opt to watch a Clint Eastwood movie with his dad over time with his friends. In high school, he asked his mom to make two breakfast sandwiches for his backpack so he could drop one off for a boy who had been kicked out of his home. The biggest legacy Joey left is all the people he touched and the relationships he formed helping others on the journey. Joanna, Joey’s mom said, “Whoever he met, he paid attention. He always left them feeling good.”
His last job was at K1 Racing as a flag guy. He was earning good money and had just applied for a car loan to purchase a Camaro when he passed away. The family home is quiet. Marijuana took away Joey’s future. “The world needs more beautiful people like him,” Gino stated. “Joey would tell us to live our lives and go for our dreams. I want to live a life that honors him.”
Joey’s parents, Gino and Joanna Jimenez provided the information for this narrative.
June 30, 1994-April 5, 2016
Age 21-Lived with the disease of addiction for three years.
