Josh and I worked together for about a year and a half. He was great to work with, always had this secret grin on his face like he knew way more than he was letting on. He would bring me jars of salsa and I would make him pies. I think he liked my bourbon pie the best. Josh was so quiet and wise. He could say something in five words that meant volumes. He observed much more than he expressed verbally. I really liked that about him. He shared lots of stories with me about his sister and her family. One time I brought him some Salt Water Taffy from Ocean City and he said, ""This is really weird because my niece was handing me these same things this weekend"".  You could feel connected to Josh without really having to say anything. He was just that way. I miss him a lot every day at work. I find myself remembering all the little things about him that I thought I would get to see for a long time in the future. I miss you Josh! You are gone way too soon from our lives. I will honor your memory by focusing on the happiness you brought to those around you. Miss you. Wish you were here. Save a spot for me up there, would 'ya? 
So long for now. S. Kathryn Grimes

I wrote this on my own site so I'd always know where to find it, and I hadn't thought about posting it here. Especially after Warren's very heartfelt note, I felt like I couldn't say things any better. But then I decided that I should still post this anyhow, since any tribute to Josh would be good, even if it's not as elegant as the others. So:

I was very surprised and saddened to hear that my cousin Josh had passed away this past weekend. He was still very young–only 36. It’s difficult to put all the thoughts and emotions that one has at a time like this into words, so I’ll just put some thoughts out there.

On my dad’s side of the family, my brother, my sister, and I are all collectively the youngest “kids,” so I always thought that my cousins were cooler and bigger than me and I looked up to them accordingly. They lived on a farm and/or in Florida, which I just couldn’t compete with. So even though I wasn’t that much younger, I still have memories of being a bit amazed by them. I remember talking with Josh once when we were probably teenagers, and he said he was going to get a Dr. Dre CD. Then, just a few months later, he said he had been listening to a Metallica CD. Obviously, you can’t help but admire a cousin like that.

Ever since I moved to Costa Rica about 8 years ago I’ve not seen as much of my extended family, and Josh was in that category, unfortunately. However, I was able to at least chat with him a month or two ago on Facebook, and he was as friendly and nice as always. In our chat we just did some general catching up–nothing that special, but still nice nonetheless. I was very glad to make contact with him again, and mentioned how hopefully the next time I was in Colorado, he and Angela would finally get to meet each other, and he’d also be able to meet Will. I feel really bad that that didn’t happen, but on the other hand, at least we did get to talk. How many times have we all heard people regret that they didn’t reach out to just say hi to someone they love when they had the chance, only to lose that person shortly thereafter? So even though I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, I’m very happy I got to say hi one last time. And if you have a person like that in your life, who it’d be easy to say hi to, but you just don’t because you think you’ll do it later when the time is more convenient, don’t wait–just say hi. You’ll be glad you did.

Josh, rest in peace. I’ll miss you. We’ll all miss you.

From Ryan

You have been a blessing to us from the first time we held you as you got off the plane from Korea.
  I remember you as a little boy, around 4 years old, telling your mom and I, while holding your arms out stretched ""when I grow up I'm going to give you this much monies"".  In the same manner holding your arms out you would say ""In Korea the candy bars are this 
big"". 
  You certainly did live up to what you said. You enriched our lives more than any ""monies"" and sweetened our lives more than the biggest candy bar in the world. We should have known from these early statements the loving individual you would become.
  You were always willing to give to others and never asked anything in return. I will cherish the times you would rub me on the shoulder when you knew I was upset, and I know your mother will miss your teasing by sneaking up to her and sticking your finger in her ear. 
   They say silence is golden but the squeak on that top step to the basement has been quiet since you have been gone, and the silence it NOT golden, but deafening! We will miss your coming and going with the silence of the step. 
    We loved each conversation, and every hug was precious. 

   Joshua you are a beloved son and you will be forever missed by us. We love you ever so much. Keep God Company till we see you again.

Mom and Dad

I did not know Josh but my sons knew Josh and what I have heard of him tells me that I would have liked him very much.  My sons both cared for Josh a lot and thoroughly enjoyed spending time with him.  I would have wanted to trade recipes with him and tried some of his food. Rest in peace you dearly loved man.  I pray for comfort for all - to anyone who is impacted by his passing.

I did not know Josh well.  However, I know he was a loved and cherished son and brother to a beautiful family raised by Warren and Mary.  I used to see Josh at Warren and Mary's house, saying ""Hey Josh! What's up?!?""  He would respond with a kind smile, usually saying, ""Not much.  How are you?""  But, I used to hear Warren and Mary speak of Josh, hearing the love and happiness in their hearts when they spoke of him.  I now regret not taking the time to get to know Josh better.  

   Through the years of knowing Warren and Mary, I see them as part of my family and two of the best people I have ever had the pleasure to meet.  My heart truly weeps for Warren, Mary, Christine, Jennifer, Sean, and Sarah.  Josh was a young man whose life was cut short all too soon.  I know as a family, the Sitzmans will be lead by God, along a path none of us know, but that He knows.  Josh is in a better place now, able to watch over all those who he loved and loved him.

God bless you all.  God bless Josh as he is welcomed into His kingdom.

With love,

David, Sunda and Samantha

Mary and Warren,

So sorry to have read about the passing of your handsome son, Joshua.  Our hearts and thoughts go out to you and your family at this time of sorrow and grief.

Our sincere condolences,

Judy Elliott and Tim Karpowich

Mary, Warren, and family, this beautiful tribute shows such a loving family - the loss of someone so young, is hard, an experience that will shake your very being - so hold each other closer, and love each other more, for Joshua's important part in your family will forever be there-will continue in needed moments of your day.  I did not know Joshua, but can see his remarkableness in his smile, kindness in his eyes.  God Bless, Warren, thinking of you and Mary..........................Sally Gomez

As a writer I’ve spent the last 10 plus years trying to find the right words with any project, the last three years in an intense journalistic atmosphere, and there is one sure thing I’ve learned: It’s never easy to find the right words at the right time. When I first heard about Josh passing away I immediately burst into an uncontrollable relentless sob, a completely wordless and powerful flood of emotions that could never be explained with words. Even though I’m an emotional person, the crying surprised me, especially when those tears came back every time I saw his picture.

You see, I never got to know Josh as well as I wanted. I always planned on seeing him every once in a while when friends of friends would hang out with other friends. I thought I had decades to get to know him, but I probably didn’t even get a decade. He was so quiet and nice, and dependable and loyal from what I hear from other people who were a lot closer than I. He loved food and so do I. It seemed like he didn’t just love eating the food, he loved everything that had to do with cooking, from the friends and family in the kitchen, to sharing the yumminess of food with another person.
 
I don’t know much else about him. I too am an introvert, so when two introverts meet not much is said. Only heaping handfuls of time could bring two introverts into a friendship. Everyone’s future is unsure. Time on this planet should be spent selflessly loving other people enough to be involved in their lives on a regular basis. It’s so easy to be lazy and lose touch with another person because we’d rather unwind with a beer in front of the computer or TV or whatever we do to shake off a bad day.

It’s so easy to scroll past another person’s life so we can read about the daily news or see the next movie trailer or find the next fun recipe to try out. Social networks have led us to a micromanaged way to socialize, too efficient a thing to pass up the chance to save some time. Hey, I’m not pointing a finger at anyone, I do it myself. I know the older we get, the slower we get, and the more stuff we need to get done in a day, but we need to sit the hell up, drive to someone’s house, and visit with them. 

Even if our only reason were to go over and just visit. Or we can just watch a movie. We can just watch TV. We can play video games. We can BBQ. We can just sit there and say nothing. We can sit there and say everything. We could share a drink. We can breathe each other’s air. We could share a smoke. We could share joke. We could share a rhyme. We could share this time.  

Life can be so unexpected. Every day is a chance to get to know someone new or know someone better. We should all throw our egos aside and walk humbly into the world every day, or, at least as much as we can handle. I’m not trying to preach someone else’s philosophy, or guilt you into doing anything. I’m just writing what’s on my mind because this is how Josh has affected my life. Maybe you take this and do something about it, maybe you don’t, maybe you’re already less selfish than I am. Wherever you are in life, please at least remember these words.
 
I regret not getting to know Josh. And now all I can do is remember who I saw him as: A kind introvert with kick ass cooking skills.

Oh and then the Peanut Brittle he made around Christmas time. The first time I brought my daughter in to work while I was still on maternity leave, he ran up and asked if I liked Peanut Brittle. He was really proud of it. It was delicious. He was so passionate about feeding people and making them happy with food.

I really enjoyed Josh because he and I shared the same dry, sarcastic sense of humor. He was very intelligent.  He was very kind to me during my pregnancy, always bringing me burritos and other random food items to eat. He surprised me almost everyday during the duration of my pregnancy with some new food. Either a new food he himself  had made, or something he supposedly didn't want to eat, because he'd randomly gotten ""one too many"" that morning from the fast food place. He once recreated a soup from Olive Garden. He said he'd found the recipe online. He watched my face as I tasted it, to see if I approved. I told him it was fabulous, and it really was. He was tremendously skilled at cooking.  I found him very generous and quite funny. He also worked diligently to perfect a salsa recipe. His salsas were so delicious. He was very giving and proud of his various recipes he would generously share with everyone. 

 He was very compassionate and giving in his own way. He told me his passion was cooking, and that he wanted to attend a school for culinary arts. He would come up to me at work, and shake the back of my chair gently to announce that he was there. He was only two years younger than me. I'll miss our little jokes. I'll miss his salsa. He had a really warm and loving smile, when he shared it. He was quiet and kept to himself, but he had a hilarious sense of humor and he was a very good man. I wish his family peace during this time. I know he's in a better place now. I wish him well. He will certainly be missed.

Josh was an amazing person.  He was very shy but every once in awhile you could catch a smile.  When he would come and help me with a customer (Skybeam), he could always calm them down with his sweet but confident voice.  You will be greatly missed!  My condolences go out to Josh's family.

I meet Josh at Partech about 10 years ago. He was an introvert and I am attracted to introverts, I like to break their shell since I'm an extrovert. I tried to talk to him when I could and slowly wore him down. But, the first time he talked to me first was when I was running the Shift Leader's desk talking to a supervisor who rubbed his eyes and just at the moment he had his eyes squinted pulled to the side Josh walked by and said, 
""Are you making fun of me?"", sounding serious in his dry sense of humor and then smiled. We just about died laughing. Ever since then we were friends. 

I loved all his cooking, especially the salsa. I would always mix it with cheese and make Queso. Oh man, I would make myself sick eating too much of it. I will miss you bro, you went way too soon. We were suppose to have many more decades of hanging out and eating too much.

Josh (Joshie as I called him) was one of my best friends. We could lean on each other whenever either of us were going through a difficult time.  Josh always told me I was one of 3 people he could completely trust and that meant the world to me. I just spoke with him over the phone on July 19th and now he is gone - I just can't believe it.  I miss him so very much. I'll miss his voice, his laugh, his sense of ""humor"", our talks about life and cooking.  Let's face it, I'll miss everything about him but I have to try and think that he is in a better place.  Josh was an amazing person and will be greatly missed by not only me but many. He will forver have a special place in my heart. My condolences to the family.

As I reminisce the moments we first shared there was a connection...and as I think of your loving and compassionate heart I miss you more today than yesterday.  I wish you were still around my friend to give me your advice as we take our walks together...I will try to keep the inner peace you coach me on and to stay positive even when darkest surrounds me...even if it was for a short time we known each other I will always be thankful for those moments...My funniest memory of us was when I yelled at you from a distance at work because you didn't say Hi and I said ""hey don't walk away without saying Hi, I know where you work"" and you came over later that evening and apologized and said you were having a bad day I went on break with you and we talk for a bit and I caught that ""shy smile"" I loved to see because it made me happy that I could make you day and it was the last time I saw you...R.I.P. Josh you will be missed by many your loving soul had touched many hearts including mine,,,,

I've known Josh since I was 16. I met him and Anthony working at Burger King on tenth street. We instantly became friends. Our friendship was always off and on but he always held a dear place in my heart. I will never forget you Josh... Fly high with the angels

OBITUARY

Joshua Sitzman

May 19, 1978 – July 27, 2014

Allnutt Funeral & Cremation - Macy

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