Joshua "Josh" Ryan Boughter

Joshua Ryan Boughter, “Josh” of Scottsdale, Arizona went to Heaven on Tuesday, January 18, 2011 at the age of 21. Josh was born in Mesa, Arizona on November 3, 1989. He was a 2008 graduate of Saguaro High school and had attended Arizona State University on an academic scholarship. We will always remember his warm smile, friendly personality and free-spirit attitude. He had the ability to make friends easily and impacted the lives of so many people. He enjoyed all sports including a passion for snowboarding and was a member of the 2007 Saguaro State Championship Football team.

Josh is survived by his mother Deana Boughter and her husband Bill, his father Tom Johnson and his wife Hilorie, Brother Nick and Sister Brooke, Grandparents Larry Boughter and his wife Jackie, Robert and Beverly Johnson and Great Grandparents, Bob Boughter, Tom and Dorothy Richards. He is preceded in death by his Grandmother Sally Boughter. He was also loved by several aunts, uncles, cousins, and many friends.

“Life’s not about how long you stayed it’s a reflection of the lives you touched, for whom you cared and loved so much.” We know you are smiling in heaven and watching over us until the day we join you. May our heavenly Father bless you always. We will cherish the 21 years we had with you as part of our lives. You will always be in our hearts and prayers. You were a true blessing to us. We love you Josh.

A celebration of his life will be held Saturday, January 22nd, with a Friends & Family Gathering 10am-12pm and the Service beginning at 12:00 at Mariposa Gardens, 400 South Power Rd, Mesa, AZ 85206 , 480-830-4422. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Scottsdale Boys & Girls Club - 10533 E. Lakeview Drive, Scottsdale, AZ 85258. 480.860.5520

To us, he was Josh, Joshie, Josh Man, a nephew… a brother…. a son… a cousin… a grandson… a great-grandson…

Joshua Ryan Boughter, born November 3rd, 1989, died January 18, 2011. The dates are not as important. The dash is when he lived and that is the life that is to be remembered.

His big warm smile, and tongue and his hang loose, how could you not help but to smile back?

I feel privileged to have lived with Josh for a number of years, as I can remember when he first came home from the hospital. His parents were just starting out and had no crib. His parents pulled out the top dresser drawer, put it on the floor, lined it with blankets, and that was his first crib.

Josh was the first grandchild and could do no wrong. He was spoiled by all of us. He was the first one to call Tom “dad”, Deanna “mom”, to call our parents “Grandma and Grandpa.” Grandma thinks no grandchild can do any wrong, but parents might think differently from time to time. I might have a few of these moments myself, maybe more than a few. Josh would get a million toys for birthdays, Christmas, and every time we’d go shopping he’d get a gift.

Our favorite memory was his second Christmas. He had gotten many toys, gifts, and stuffed animals. But one we remember the most was a Little Tykes slide. It was about two feet tall, and it took some encouragement to get Josh to climb the top, but once he got to the top and slid down, the smile he would express would make everyone laugh and clap, including himself. We stopped opening gifts and simply watched him for over an hour. Our cheeks were so sore, we had never laughed so much.

Watching him use that gift was the best gift to all us, it was a great Christmas.

Winnie the Pooh was one of his favorite VCR tapes, he would watch it again and again for hours. He also enjoyed games and was especially good at the card game Concentration. It seemed he always knew where the matching card was.

Josh excelled in sports and games. We enjoyed watching his many games of football and basketball at the Boys and Girls Club.

When I lived with Josh, we built Hot Wheel tracks that went from one room to the next and would include jumps and loops. As he would ride his white trike, we would chase him around the pool table. I taught him how to jump off the roof into the pool, and we even took a bus ride to downtown Phoenix. There was a bus ride story that always made us laugh; it will be posted on the memorial website. And the cruise to Cancun was unforgettable.

In his short life he accomplished more than most people do in a lifetime: he flew an airplane for his 16th birthday, he was a skate boarder, a snow boarder, a skim boarder, a scuba diver, an academic scholar, a football player, most of all he was just a TERRIFIC person, who was loved by all.

If the turnout here today is any indication of how he was loved I know in my heart that the gates of Heaven were already open waiting to receive him with loving arms of embrace.

Josh will always be loved…and never forgotten.