Joey

My beloved brother and I have been very close from the day I was born. He is my guardian, my protector, my big brother.

In our first picture together, he can be seen supporting me and keeping me from falling over.

Our birthdays are within a week of each other. If mine is on Monday, his is the following Monday. We even shared a birthday cake for years.

We were never far apart for the first six years of my life. Then, he went to live with his mom and sister, Tina, for a while. Even though we were separated physically, we were never far from each others thoughts. He came back for a bit when I was twelve, and we made a trip to Louisiana to visit our other sister, Cindy, and her family that summer.

But, by that time, he was an adult and he had to live his own life. So about a year later, he went to help Tina through her divorce and we were separated again. We kept in touch and he made frequent trips back to see me.

As time passed, I grew up and got married and started a family of my own. Then, in 1999, just three days after my birthday, our grandmother passed away. Our family made the long trip back to Georgia for the funeral and then drove even further to pick up Joey so that he could attend. Her funeral was held on his birthday. We were together again, but neither of us felt like celebrating.

He's an outdoorsman and a singer. He loves animals and is rarely without his dog, Tasha. My memories are full of him and the times we have had together.

We have spent our last five birthdays together. I will cherish the memories of these for the rest of my life. He has spent a month or two with us every year after Grandmom died.

My brother, Joey, would have turned thirty-six last month. Unfortunately, he never made his thirty-fourth. Joey was thirty-three when he was killed by a drunk.

I will miss him forever and I still feel his loss on a daily basis. He left behind a mother and father, a step-mother and step-father, three half-sisters, and several step-siblings as well. He left more than 15 nieces and nephews, three of which he never got to meet.

He also left behind a hard life, though, including many surgeries just to allow him to walk. He lived a life full of pain yet never complained.

Joey left us all behind yet he took our hearts with him.

My only regret: I never got to say good-bye.