Memorial
Joel Christopher Davis was born August 15, 1987 Died June 17, 2005 at 17 years of age.
Joel was born in Jackson, California and brought home to our home in Rail Road Flat, California. He lived in the mountains with his dad, brother and mom as a pastors son, doted on with his brother by the loving people who lived there. When Joel turned 2 ½, his parents hit a hard time and split up. By the time he turned 4 his parents were divorced. Joel was a frustrated very intelligent boy. He moved in with his mom in Dublin Ca. And attended Valley Christian Elementary School. He loved his friends there, he created games and clubs for his friends and caused his teachers to have headaches because he was so smart and entertaining. He loved to make people laugh and feel good.
He went to Jr. High at Harvest Park in Pleasanton, and this is where he lived for the rest of his life. He played PJFL (community football) for 4 years, he started wrestling in 6th grade and wrestled through his freshman year at Foothill High School. Joel knew almost everyone in town. His teachers loved and hated him for his intelligence and quick wit that made the class laugh. His SAT scores were in the 99th percentile in both math and English. So, he was invited to be a part of the John’s Hopkins Recognition for kids that had high scores. Joel never wanted to be seen as a “dwebe” and fought to stay out of the GATE programs. His mom remarried when he was in 7th grade and he suddenly had 3 stepbrothers and 1 stepsister.
He consented to be in honors English as a freshman in High School but discovered a handicap that caused his GPA to dip. He was tested for dyslexia and found to be moderate to severely impacted by it. He gave up honors classes and AP classes because he didn’t want the stress and possible failure on his record. He wrestled one year and played football two years for Foothill. He got a part time job at the “corner grocery” and became friends with a larger part of the community. He continued to entertain his classmates and co-workers and still achieved a 4.0 at the close of his Jr. year. No struggle was too much for him. He struggled all of his life. He faced personal challenges through all of these things, yet his friends said, “nothing would ever get to him”, and “he was always there for me no matter what was going on, I don’t think he had any problems”. “Joel was someone you could always go to when you had a problem and he would always give you good advice”
What did Joel want to be “when he grew up”? Not a pastor, “they don’t make enough money”, not a teacher, they don’t make enough money either and they have to put up with kids like me. He sort of settled on being a chiropractor for a while, “they help people feel better, and make enough money to have an enjoyable life”. Then he was looking at 100 colleges his Jr. year, for things like pediatrics. He even was invited to a special program for pediatrics but was already gone.
Joel was an “overcomer”, and a positive influence on everyone he knew. He had nearly the whole tri-valley recognize his loss. He loved ALL of his friends and exhausted himself to help and entertain them to feel better about themselves, and their lives. He did the same for me. He was a LARGE beautiful soul in the end. He liked “Life House” the music group, Simon and Garfunkle, and the popular, Jack Johnson.
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stairway_to_heaven65
Posted By
Debbie Smith