People gravitated towards his beaming smile and he left an “imprint on everyone who knew him that will last an eternity.”
Suffice to say, little Joshua Weekes made a huge impression on everyone who was lucky enough to meet him in his seven, short years before he, as one close family friend put, “returned to his angel form.”
After almost a year of battling a very aggressive form of leukemia – and a very public, nationwide search for a bone marrow donor – Joshua, unfortunately, passed away peacefully last Thursday afternoon in the arms of his mom, Lia, and dad, Dagan, while surrounded by family.
Although understandably grief-stricken, Lia found the strength to contact the Richmond News on Monday to express her profound appreciation for the people who rallied around Joshua, who would have been in Grade 2 at DeBeck elementary, during his long fight against acute myeloid leukemia.
“We are forever grateful for everything the community did for us and to help Joshua,” she said.
“So many strangers reached out to us in such a way that it gave us some light when times were very dark for us; I can’t thank everyone enough for that.”
Lia said a service, being held on Thursday in Burnaby, will be open to “anyone and everyone who was touched by Joshua.”
A message posted last Friday online by Tania Fernandes-Silva, Lia’s best friend and Joshua’s godmother, broke the sad news of Joshua’s untimely passing:
“With a broken heart I regret to inform you all that Joshua has left us. Yesterday at 2 p.m., he took his last breath surrounded by his loved ones and in the arms of his loving mother, Lia.
“We were so hopeful up until his last few days that Josh would come through this regardless of what we were told. He defeated so many odds but at the end, it was just too much and he was so tired from fighting this battle so long. All Joshua wanted was to stay.
“Lia and Dagan tried effortlessly to keep him here but not everything ends the way it should.
“In Joshua's first five years of life, his undeniable charm and sparkling personality made it easy for him to capture the hearts of people wherever he went. He loved every minute of it.
“(This Thursday)…we would like to celebrate his life in a way that he would have wanted. To be surrounded by his people and by love. We would like him to see just how many people and lives he touched in such a short time.
“Please join us on Jan. 19 to pay tribute to our sweet Joshua.”
As the sad news spread on the Internet, tributes began pouring in for Joshua, including:
“heartfelt prayers and love going out to Weekes family & friends. Another Angel is upon us xo,” written by Christine Bifano;
“I have no doubt that he will forever be by your side, with you in spirit and in your hearts. Xo,” by Andie Pants; and “There is no foot so small that it cannot leave an imprint on this world,” from Ingrid Falgui.
During Joshua’s fight against cancer, hundreds of people from across the Lower Mainland and beyond turned out for bone marrow drives in Richmond, as the family searched in vain for a stem cell match for their son, who had a rare ethnicity of Filipino, English, Icelandic and West Indian.
For all who wish to attend, the open service for Joshua will be held on Thursday Jan. 19 at 2 p.m. at Forest Lawn Funeral Home, 3789 Royal Oak Ave., Burnaby.
