Joshua William Lownes

On October 11, 1994, Joshua William Lownes was born to the proud parents of Jeffrey and Donna (Glineck) Lownes at Holmes Regional Medical Center, in Melbourne Florida. He was the youngest of four children. Joshua's two older brothers, Jeffrey Jr and Joseph were so happy that they had a little brother, but his older sister Deanah was so ecstatic, she thought that he was her baby and only her baby, when she finally got to hold him, she was like a little mother hen and when mom tried to take him, she would freak out crying saying " No he's my baby", that bond that they shared never changed from that day on. Joshua shared a bedroom with his 2 older brothers at the house on Linmoore Circle, in Palm Bay. There was lots of love and many fights, as should be between siblings.

In 1997 Joshua attended Pirate Preschool at Palm Bay High School, where Jessica Brown, a student there and his babysitter would sometimes take him to preschool in the mornings and his mom or Grandma Glineck would pick him up in the afternoon. In February of 1998 the Lownes family moved into the home they built on Rankin Ave, in SE Palm Bay, FL. Joshua and Joey still had to share a room and didn't think it was fair, but this just brought them closer.

In August of 2000, Joshua attended Columbia Elementary from kindergarden to sixth grade, where he made many friends , Zac Curtis, Andre Wood, Dalen & Dalton, Dustin Clawson, and Jimmy Steelman, just to name a few. He loved Miss Donna and the school nurse Miss Theresa, he told his mom," If I can't have you at school with me, I'm glad I have them." His first girlfriend was in kindergarden, her name was Rachael Roberts, they actually got in trouble for kissing at school, Miss Snipes called and said that Rachael and Josh moved their mats behind the bookshelf at nap time, and she caught them kissing, amazingly Deanah and Rachael are the best of friends and just realized in 2011 that she was the one.

One teacher that made a huge impact on Joshua was his science teacher, Mr. Dilger, he opened Josh's eyes to a world of learning, he taught him alot about going green, I remember one time when we bought styrofoam cups, Josh made me take them back to the store , telling me they weren't safe for the enviroment, Joshua got the whole family to start recycling . Mr. Dilger was a graduate of the University of Florida and a huge Gators fan, He and Josh would talk about the team all the time, this is when Josh started getting into football, so much that he played for the Cougars Pop Warner in 2006 Peewee team and 2007 Jr Midget, his position was left guard. He's practice 3-4 days a week at Fred Lee Park, he received trophies and was so proud to play , he had a goal that after graduation he was going to attend University of Florida and play for the Gators while getting a degree in Construction.

Joshua played several instruments in elementary school, he played the Recorder, and received all his colors from Mrs. Wennigar, he played the Violin for school concerts, he especially loved the Christmas concert, he had alot of fun playing the Xylaphone. Our neighbor Doug Lee gave Joshua a drum set, and he played that like crazy and was pretty darn good at all of them, he dabbled with the Guitar and Piano and wasn't too bad with them either.

From 2008- 2010 Joshua Attended Southwest Middle School, this is where he became a great friend to many kids, they would come to him for advice, to be cheered up or to just talk. Josh's parents remember going into his room at 11, 12 or sometimes even 1:00 am and he'd be on the phone helping a friend with whatever problem they were having at that time, alot of the times it was Tori Gomez, she was the love of his life, he said that he was going to marry her one day. Then there was Katelyn Delaport, Payton , Gabbi, Dustin, Zack and many others. Grandma Glineck said that he was the male version of Dear Abby, funny but true. Joshua looked up to Mrs. Rockstraw, his guidence counselor , he could go to her and talk to her about anything, she always helped him and his mom, when it came to school.

Joshua and Joey would go to the game room every Saturday to play Yugio, and argue about who had the better cards, and it never failed, Joey would always give him some good cards after the argument. Josh was always tinkering with one project or another, fixing a bike, changing tires on the ATV, doing oil changes, so when his Dad decided to build a detached garage, Josh was more than happy to help. Josh, Jeffrey and Dad worked hard on the weekends, building the walls, setting the trusses , when it came time for the roof, his Dad showed him how to do the plywood, by the next weekend when his dad got home, Josh had the whole thing done. He was so proud of his accomplishment, after the garage was complete, you'd always find Josh in there fixing something, with his brother Jeffrey, they had a great relationship, Jeffrey would take him fishing, and to the mud boggs, where Josh would ride the ATV thru the mud pits, he'd always come home with a trophy for 1st or 2nd place. One night he came home covered in mud, it seems that his cousin Najeah and he decided to play in the mud pit. Joshua and Deanah are 19 months apart, they were inseperable, Josh loved that his older sister would bring home cute girls, some of his special buddies are Jamie Williams aka ghostrider and Ashley Gross. He also loved his brother Jeffrey's girlfriend Jes, she even called him boyfriend...... he loved it!

One of Joshua's proudest moments was when his brother Joey gave him a nephew on January 29, 2010. He was so excited to be an Uncle. When they brought Jojo to see him, it brightened his day big time! There are so many wonderful memories..... Joshua's Grandma and Grandpa Glineck recall the times Josh would ride his bike over to their house, get something to eat and drink, visit for a while, knowing the whole time that grandma would drive him home, it was a 7 mile ride! Grandpa smiles alot thinking of all the things Josh would say and do, one time was when his brother Joey's friend Jason was over and all the boys were ramping their bikes, Josh who is 5+ years younger was a pro at ramping, when Jason went to ramp, he stopped just before the ramp, Josh hollered out "your a pussy" Grandpa about fell over laughing at what his 5 year old grandson said. Josh was Grandpa's little buddy, always going and helping him with everything.

We were devastated on January 21, 2010, when Josh was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia. Joshua was so strong and confidant that everything was going to be okay, his spirits were amazing, he woke up everyday with a positive attitude. He was always playing jokes and pranks on the nurses and his family. I would cry sometimes and he'd hug me and tell me it's going to be alright, that he's a fighter and not giving up. Unfortunately Joshua never received his transplant, and on August 11, 2010, he lost his battle....He was amazingly strong, and thankfully he was himself till the end, still joking around and in good spirits.

Joshua inspired so many people in his journey, the nurses at Arnold Palmer Hospital, Ashley,Jenny,Marae,Monica, Elise,Liz,Melissa,Alex,Jaime and Tara, Friends, Tori,Ginni, Morgan,Andre,Zac,and Austin to name a few. There was a Bone Marrow Drive that Holli and Kaytlyn Delaport worked with DKMS in his honor, fortunately he was able to attend the event for a little bit and was around all of his friends, it was great to see him with everyone. He had huge smiles.....His Great Aunt Nancy Teegarden named him the boy with the golden heart, she would send him corney jokes that would make him smile. Jeffrey held a mud boggs benefit at County Line, had an awesome turnout. Joshua's cousins Rod and Mindy Biegenwald came down several times from Pennsylvania to see him and held a benefit in his honor up in Pa, Joshua was so excited when Rod gave him his very own debit card, he was too cute ordering stuff online, he bought everyone Cancer Sucks wrist bands. Cousin Bridget Boyd held a blood drive in his honor from Pennsylvania. Kristen Campbell Schroder from Buffalo had a raffle for a signed Buffalo Sabre Jersey. Even strangers in Maine held a poker run for him. The Moose Lodge that his grandparents are members held a benefit too. I'll never forget Jaybon, Joshua inspired him so much that he did a whole line of shirts especially for Joshua, the Team Josh shirts, he made had a Florida Gators design and a guy fishing, and one that Josh designed , it said F- Cancer and the k at the end has the ribbon that says team Josh in it. Jay and Josh became very close, I remember times when Josh would call him and Jay would stop what he was doing and talk for as long as Josh wanted. thanks to Philicia a very kind and caring soul, Josh and Jay became good friends. Philicia would always send Josh a surprise package, he loved them all.

It was truly amazing all the love and support that came to honor Joshua's life, over 1,000 people attended, we knew how special and great a kid he is, but we didn't realize until then how many lives he had touched. We are so blessed to be his parents, our only regret is that we didn't have more time. We love you Strunie!........... and always will.

Love You More!

Mom & Dad