Joshua Allen Brent

Joshua Allen Brent was born July 1, 1990 in Austin, Texas. Josh entered the heavenly gates to begin his forever journey with God on December 28, 2017 at the age of 27. He grew up in Austin and Pflugerville. Josh is survived by his loving parents, Robert and Becky Brent, his grandparents, Bessie Davis, Shirley Brent and Bob Brent Jr., as well as many aunts, uncles, cousins and close family friends. He was preceded in death by his Grandpa Kenneth Davis, his Uncle Mike Brent, his Cousin Neil McElroy and his loving cat Tigger. We take great comfort in knowing that he was greeted by our loved ones that are already in heaven and that we will be reunited one day.

Josh and his parents became members of Victory Christian Center 20+ years ago. Josh grew up going to church where he was always greeted with open arms. He also was a regular at Country Camp during the summer.

Anyone who got to meet Josh was immediately touched, blessed and inspired by him. He had such a great spirit and an even bigger heart, which is why we are not surprised by the outpouring of love and support we as a family have received. Even though his body has failed him, Josh pushed through and beat all the odds against him which proves that no matter how tough times got that he had great strength. While he may not be here physically, it is his strength, love, courage, and inspiration that will carry his loved ones and friends through the days, weeks and years ahead.

As his family, we saw the good and the bad times, but I can tell you the good outweighs the bad as it always does. His smile would light up the room and make a bad day into a good one. He had a laugh that would fill up the room and that was contagious to the point where you could be laughing for no reason. Sometimes, just to get him to laugh you would have to tickle him, which as his parents know would have to happen when he was engrossed in one of his movies or books on tape. And OH MY did he have an enormous collection of movies. His cousin Brandi told me that watching movies with Josh when they were younger was the best because he made it more fun to do so. He also loved listening to audio books like Hank the Cow Dog and The Box Car Kids and to Christian music and occasionally listened to Old Rock N Roll when my uncle Bobby played it.

Memories

Before Josh became sick, he was a little stinker according to his mom. You see he had a thing about pennies and would love to hide them, including in a tape recorder that eventually had to be taken apart. So, if you find a penny know it’s from Josh. Aunt Becky told me a funny story involving his cousin Lexi and some small marshmallows. She decided to share them with her Joshie but there was one small problem, he was not able to eat them, so they were just dissolving in his mouth. The result was a scared Lexi, a frantic Grandma Shirley, a marshmallow foaming Josh and a funny lasting memory.

His cousins Brandi, Charli, Lexi, Matt, Howard, Isabel, Neil and I (Merissa) loved Josh very much. We never saw him with a disability but as a special gift from God that we grew to love and cherish. Yes, he was our little cousin, even though he was older than two of his cousins, he was more like our little brother and we were all very protective of him. We each had a special bond with him in our own way. He will be greatly missed and will live forever in our hearts.

For me, growing up with Josh, we had a bond that was very strong and unbreakable. You could take one look at us together and see that, which is something I will cherish forever. Ever since he was a baby, I always referred to him as my baby, and even as we got older he was still my baby and he always will be and I will always be his Merissa. Anytime he heard my voice whether it be on the phone or in person he would turn towards the sound of my voice, smile and stare. He may have not been able to talk but he could say volumes without uttering a word. When I look at pictures of us from over the years, I always laugh because we have very distinct ears that make us look like Dr Spock from Star Trek which I loving called baby spock ears. Thankfully, we grew into them.

Josh, you are the reason I started with children with special needs, granted I don’t do it as much as an adult, but I do have a better understanding of what a family goes through when it comes to having a special needs child. I know that you are no longer in pain, that you are running free and getting to experience things you were never able to do as a child. Right now, you are probably fishing with your Uncle Mike or playing baseball with our cousin Neil. I have 27 years of memories of you and I promise to never forget about you and will do my best to honor you. I know that this is not goodbye, just a see you later. Until then watch over our family with our loved ones who you are now with and we will look for signs that you are with us. You will forever be in my heart and my baby. I love and miss you dearly Joshua Allen Brent. Fly high with the Angels.

Merissa Davis-Sandate