The ALS Hope Foundation is grateful for the continued support of the Tkachuk family. The Tkachuks tragically lost their son and brother Joshua to ALS at the young age of 18. We were privileged to care for Joshua at the MDA/ALS Center of Hope.
Joshua's sister Jessica is getting married on September 12, 2015. She has asked that her guests please donate to the Joshua Tkachuk Memorial Fund in lieu of gifts. (You can make a donation here). These funds will support the MDA/ALS Center of Hope, where Joshua was loved and cared for. Below is a message from Joshua's family.
We were blessed with Joshua on October 6, 1993, and ALS took him away on June 5, 2012. This was the most heart-breaking day of our lives… next to the one where they told us that he had ALS and he wasn’t going to survive.
Before Josh became ill, he was an active, hard-working teenager who loved being around his family and friends. He was grateful for the simple things in life, like having his own room and going out to dinner. He enjoyed our family vacations visiting his grandmother in Florida, and playing rounds upon rounds of miniature golf in Ocean City, Maryland.
He liked being outdoors, working in the yard or taking walks in the woods. He loved to play basketball and golf. He was on the bowling team at school. He was very good at video games, board games and WII bowling. (He could bowl a strike from another room!) He enjoyed watching movies, listening to music, and playing his bass guitar. He had recently gotten his learner’s permit and was looking forward to getting his driver’s license.
He was a senior at W.B. Saul High School for Agriculture where he was studying to become a landscaper. After graduation he planned on going into business with his best friend, Nick. (Nick has since joined the Navy.)
When he wasn’t in school, Joshua spent a great deal of time working at the golf course in the Green Valley Country Club, in Lafayette Hill, Pa.
Joshua was such a treasure. Not only was he a wonderful son, but he was an amazing human being. He was so loving, thoughtful, and kind. He was humble, generous, and caring. He was a dear brother, grandson, nephew, and cousin. He was a best friend, an honor roll student, a good neighbor, and a great co-worker.
Even though Joshua was just 18, he bravely faced and fought the disease with such incredible strength and determination. And even in the midst of it all he was still able to smile.
Joshua was, and still is the most courageous young man we have ever known and no words could ever express how much we love him, how much we miss him, and how utterly broken our hearts are having lost him to ALS.
