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We always thought we knew the
true meaning of the words strength, courage and faith. What we found out during the months of our brothers illness was that
our definition needed a little fine tuning. We can now define strength, courage and faith in 3 words ~ Our brother Joseph. When
our brother Joseph found out how ill he was, he told us that he was not going down without a fight, & fight he did. He
never lost his faith. His strength & courage gave us strength & courage, and it was his strength that carried us through.
Joseph never complained about being sick, although he was in constant severe pain, but there was one day when he was
feeling a bit down and we had said to him "Joe, you have been a trooper & you have been so strong, now let us be strong
for you." His sense of humor kept us all laughing, & always will. We truly were given a special gift by being blessed
with the time to share old memories and make new memories, memories that we will forever cherish. The aching sadness
in our hearts will lessen in time & surely be replaced with the acceptance that our brother is no longer with us in a
physical sense, but in our hearts and memories he will forever live on. We take comfort in truly believing that Joseph's last
breath in our arms was his first breath in Jesus' arms. Joseph will always be the "Wind Beneath Our Wings" and he will always
be our hero.
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Joseph drew this picture with a BALL POINT PEN
while still in HS. Needless to say, he received an A+++
Artist: Joseph W. Schmitt
There is so much that we would like to share with you about our
brother Joseph. He was a wonderful man who had a gentle soul and a heart of gold. His sense of humor always kept us laughing,
even at the worst of times. He was a spectacular cook and a wonderful artist. We miss him so very much and we often share
wonderful memories and stories amongst the family. Joseph had a saying for everything and two of his favorites were "oh,
cut the act" and "everybody has a story to tell." I am sure that he has all the angels in heaven laughing, or telling them
to "hold his bag" while he takes care of something! Joseph left us at 1:22 AM on March 23, 2005 and he took with him a part of
each of our hearts. One of the greatest blessings for all of us was being able to be there with him, comforting him and holding
him in our arms as he left this world to begin his eternal life
reunited with his grandmothers.
We will never forget our sweet precious
brother who is not "gone"
but has "gone on ahead."
Joseph being silly "peeking!"
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