Always loved; his life matters
As a boy, Josh loved to read, learn and expand his knowledge base. In high school, his scores on standardized testing were in the top 2% in the entire nation. Josh not only read, but committed everything to memory and used his skills in various ways to help others. He amazed people all the time with his abilities, and his mentors said there was nothing that Josh couldn’t do if he wanted to. His mother called him “her walking computer.”
Josh was someone you could spend hours listening to music with while talking about anything. His intelligence, humor, and humbleness made him a friend to anyone who met him. A very creative man, he “lived through his artistry and love of music,” according to his mother, Teri. He followed his best friend Ty, and his band, The Village Bicycle, from state to state, using his technical expertise to contribute to their performances. He also became an abstract painter, and many of his paintings were given to close friends and family members as a remembrance of his life.
Josh started to college, but had to stop when the recession hit and he was laid off from his job. He later began work for a company where his talents were recognized and he was quickly promoted and placed in charge of training hundreds of employees, including the President, on their new computer systems.
Josh’s future plans included finding a job that really challenged him, continuing his four years of sobriety and travelling. Two months prior to his death, he journeyed to the mountains of Gatlinburg, Tennessee with a close friend to view the total eclipse of the sun. Shortly after that trip, he relapsed one time and passed away.
His mom misses him calling her name and his big bear hugs, but she got to feel one again six months after Josh passed. She had a dream about him hugging her so hard and when she woke up, still felt his arms squeezing her.
Josh was an only child and very close to his mom, as were many of his friends who called her “Mama Teri.” When she got divorced after 20 years of marriage Josh told her, “I am here on Earth because of you, and you are still here because of me.” Teri said, “Now that Josh has left this earth, it is a daily struggle to keep grounded, I still don’t know how to live without him, I am truly lost.”
Josh’s mother, Teri Snyder, provided the information for this narrative
October 18, 1986-October 24, 2017
Age 31-Lived with addiction 6 years
