- Graham Greene      
The Power and the Glory     

 

This baby photo was taken at our home in Allentown, PA (where Josh was born in 1984). He was three months old in this picture and was such a happy baby. He was a real pleasure; the light of my life. Steve and I were going through a difficult time financially; he'd just been permanently laid off from his job due to downsizing at Bethlehem Steel. But, Josh was our joy that kept us going.

Josh was a little over a year old. The bear is an AG Bear that growls when you talk to it. It was one of Josh's favorite stuffed animals, and I still have that bear in Josh's room. The year of the photo was 1985, and we were living in Vermont; this particular photo was taken on one of our many drives to Pennsylvania to visit Josh's grandparents (my parents - my mother died six months after my husband in 2000)

At the age of five, Josh's father thought it was time for Josh to have his first dog. We were living in Wilkes-Barre, PA and it was a lovely spring day when we went to find Josh a puppy. He was adamant that it be a male so he could name it Bart after Bart Simpson. But when we stood in front of the puppy pens, this little fuzzy female could not take her eyes off of Josh. Next to her was her brother, but he didn't seem much interested in us. Then the little girl puppy raised her paw as if to say, "Please choose me." And, so Josh did. I'll never forget him carrying her out to the car; her little tail was wagging furiously beneath Josh's arm. On the way home, with Josh and his new puppy in the backseat, he lifted her up under her little arms and declared, "And her name shall be Toots!"

I can still picture them in my mind; I'd go check on Josh before going to bed and Toots would be stretched out across the top of the bed and Josh's head would be resting on her side, using her as his pillow. She was a wonderful dog, but died of pulmonary disease in 1997.

Josh was about four years old in this picture. It was taken in the fall  in the yard of the home we rented in Rutland, VT.

He was an active little boy and getting
clear photographs was sometimes
difficult as he was always on the move. He was a happy, talkative child and
knew no strangers.

I shot this photograph in the Hartford, CT science center. We'd caught a train from a small village in VT to Hartford just for a family day trip one weekend. Josh very much enjoyed the science center and tried just about everything there was for a child to do. He always liked going to zoos, museums and science centers, even at a very young age.

Josh and his dad.

I snapped this photo at our home in Rutland, VT. Josh was three and a half and adored his dad. They did many things together as Josh was growing up and Josh looked forward to special outings with just he and his father.

Vermont:  Josh was three years old and loved going to the park. We lived within walking distance of two really nice ones, and we went just about every day after I got home from work. There was a full lunar eclipse one night, and Steve, Josh and I walked in the middle of the night down to this particular park, where we all sat on the swings to watch the nighttime display. It was fascinating, and although Josh was quite young, he does still remember doing that with us. One of the things that never failed to amaze me was Josh's uncanny ability, even at a very young age, to know he was to play differently with little girls than he did with little boys. With little girls, he instinctively knew somehow that he was to be gentler in his play. When he played with little boys, it was rough and tumble play. I never knew how he grasped this concept from so early an age. And, he acted differently with adults, as well; relating on a more mature level with them than with the children.

This photo was taken on the occasion
of Josh's graduation from kindergarten
and the high school graduation
of Steve's first two sons, Benjamin
and Daniel.

The photo was taken right after
the graduation ceremonies.

I remember how proud Steve was
of all three of his boys and how
equally proud Josh was to be
included and to have a chance
to dress in a suit and tie just like
his dad.

It was the year he was a Wolf Cub and
he was so proud of all of those badges I had to keep sewing onto his shirt. He also was playing Little League baseball during this time, so he was staying very busy.

Joshua is 13 years old in this photograph, posing with some of his pet birds. The little blue parakeet looking at the camera was his first bird, and pretty soon, we were all hooked on having birds as pets. We would acquire three more after this picture. Josh was always gentle with these little ones and enjoyed training them to perch on his finger, and to talk and whistle. Even now, with Josh gone nearly five years, one of the cockatiels still whistles some of the tunes Josh taught him.

This was one of the last pictures taken
of Josh before his arrest in November of       1998.

It was taken in our backyard pool with his
pet beagle, Beauregarde.

It is one of my favorite pictures of Josh because it's how I always remember him; compassionate and caring; devoted to his pets.

This was a Christmastime photo of Steve and me with all three boys. Dan had flown down from PA and Ben was actually staying with us at the time as he looked for a new job.  Josh was thrilled to have his brothers stay with us. Even with the difference in their ages, all three brothers have always gotten along very well and enjoyed spending time with each other. Steve and I were always so happy to have our family all together. We had just bought our house, so we were really ecstatic at the time this picture was taken.

This is another favorite picture of mine from our family album. This shot was taken on Mother's Day, 1996 when Josh was 12. He was so excited to do something special for me
for Mother's Day. He had arranged (with his dad's help) a river boat luncheon cruise and
was so pleased to have an opportunity to dress up in a suit and tie just for me.

Throughout his childhood, he loved to have a special "date" with me; a dinner out for just the two of us, or a night at the movies for just the two of us. He loved planning special things for people he loved, and took great care in choosing gifts for birthdays and Christmases.

This was a wonderful day for me. It was such a neat thing for him to want to do for me and I'll never forget it.

Josh (just a month away from his 19th birthday, Feb. 2003) and his half brother Daniel. This visit was a complete surprise for Josh. He had no idea his brother was coming and I wish I could have had a photo of the expression on Josh's face when he saw his brother standing next to me as he came through the door to the visiting park.