Joshua Wayne Ridings, 20, of Dryden, went home to be with the Lord Sunday (April 25, 2010) in Kingsport, Tenn., following injuries received in an auto accident.
Josh was born Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1989 in Thomaston, Ga. He was a loving and giving son, brother, uncle, godfather, cousin, grandson, nephew and friend. Josh touched the life of every person who knew him. He made us laugh when we wanted to cry and smile when we wanted to frown. Josh was determined to give his life meaning. He wanted to change the lives of others for the better. With his death he was able to give eight strangers a new chance of life through his organ donation.
He was a true hero in life and in death, to his parents, family and friends. All who knew Josh would describe him as a ray of light, beacon of happiness, and a shining star. Josh knew no strangers, and has more friends than one could count, everyone who knew him loved him. He would want to be remembered by his smile, his laugh, his giving spirit, his sense of humor, his intelligence and his heart.
Josh was a graduate of Powell Valley High School Class of 2007. Josh was employed by Sykes in Wise, as a members service representative. Josh will be missed by all.
He is preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Odie Ridings; paternal grandmother, Maude Ridings; maternal grandfather, Brownie Lipps; and maternal grandmother, Lucille Lipps.
Josh is survived by his loving parents, Sandy and Greg Ridings of Dryden; his brother, Greg Allen Ridings II of Big Stone Gap, sister-in-law, Melissa Yorke of Big Stone Gap, godson and nephew, Jackson Ridings of Big Stone Gap; his brother, Jason Moore and wife, Kelly and nephews, Cory Moore, Cameron Moore and Blakey Moore of Dryden; and several aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends.
The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 30, at the Province Funeral Home Sanctuary in Pennington Gap, with The Rev. Duke Barker, The Rev. Clyde Hester and The Rev. John Dickerson officiating. Burial will follow at Lee Memorial Gardens in Woodway. The visitation will be from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at the funeral home.
Pallbearers will be Greg Allen Ridings II, Jason Moore, Casey Bentley, Michael Austin, Chris Akins, Robbie Middleton, Kenny Stanley, Michael Mullins, Leonard Bowen and Brandon Bentley with many others to follow.
Josh’s family would like to thank each and every person who offered their support and condolences during this difficult time. Josh’s parents would like each of them to always remember how Josh touched their life and made a difference. The family would like to give special thanks to Emily and Sidney for their support.
Condolences can be sent to the family by e-mail to provincefuneralhome@earthlink.net
This is a photo from 2008 of Josh & his nephew & godson, whom he cared for very much. (& hope they dont mind the posting of this photo<3 )I just really like this photo of him, with his big smile & bright eyes :) because, unless something was wrong, & even then, sometimes.. this is the Josh we know, the one I always saw, every day of school & who brightened my day & made me look forward to going to school :)
Beware, its long..
It says to enter memories & comments about Josh, but there isnt enough paper, pens, pencils, space or even time in the world for me to do that, because there are SO many memories and so much I could say. Josh was honestly the most beautiful person I have ever been blessed enough to not only know of him, but to really know him..to be one he came to, that he would trust to tell things to and know I'd keep it to myself. He helped me, not only with advice, but just by being..just him being and being a friend in school, made me ok & helped me more than he could ever imagine..since moving here and beginning classes with me in the 4th grade.. One memory I do know is short enough to say is on a "live journal" post from the 8th grade, which I still have.. I had went on and on, every detail of the dance and how excited I was that he danced with me and then about how we got to sit alone and just talk and how much i loved it.. then he left a comment and later a written note saying "Hey, Kara I never really knew you cared soo much about just talking to me and being near me.. Guess I dont know everything. Hahaha" .. & well, for him to admit that he didnt know something like that was a big thing anyway, haha. Not sure what to say, because as I said before, there's no way to tell it all..this is only a tiny piece and already this long.. Josh, is a beautiful, silly, crazy, sarcastic, colorful, "sunshiney", loving, funny, caring, thoughtful, good-hearted person.. one of the only I could honestly say had never let me down. The world truly is a darker place without him here with us, at least myself, along with his family & friends will agree.. It's a tragedy that a person failed to yield caused this, their impatience of waiting and making sure it was clear, cost this world one of the best people.. It seems unreal, still. I am personally, missing a huge part of me, he was more than just a friend & has always been there, anything to do with school mentioned & his name was to follow. Everyone without him feels lost. There's no way to put it except it there are a lot of broken hearted people, mine included, just shattered by this.. all we can do is try to make a difference, remember Josh with a smile & try to heal, if thats possible. He will be forever loved, forever missed & thought of every day.
Always let people know what you feel & think, just do it and if need be--keep trying a while.. b/c if you dont go for it you wont know & if you do and it doesnt work, you'll know you tried & wont have to wonder, & dont take people for granted--assuming they'll always be there, stay in touch, just because you graduate, doesnt mean you shouldnt make every effort to still see them. Take a chance & let what you think be known, you never know if you'll get tomorrow, so make it known today; because if you'd asked us when we graduated, we would have never guessed only 3 years later we'd be losing a member of our graduating class, especially him, no one would believe it..
* & some advice, the words of Josh:
"There's a reason you aren't invisible, so make it count.
Do something. Change something.
Make it known that you are here. Just live!" -- JWR
iloveyou&missyou, always "kid".
"..save a place for me" «3 Kara [AKA: "shortstuff".."little 'en".."polly pocket"] :) [FACT: I called him kid because he always told me how I looked younger like a kid.. & I'd joke, I may look younger.. but you're the one who's younger "kid".. & well, for what he called me, he'd go on of how short or little i was, he's the only one who could get away with that* ..polly pocket was from a Teacher Cadet day, he saw a little girl with a polly pocket -& being great with kids like he was-- bended down to her level, held and looked at the doll & told her he had a friend that looked kinda like that.. he then tells me if i were smaller id fit in his pocket. lol]
Erin Dalton (1998)
Joshua Wayne Ridings, 20, of Dryden, went home to be with the Lord Sunday (April 25, 2010) in Kingsport, Tenn., following injuries received in an auto accident.
Josh was born Wednesday, Sept. 1, 1989 in Thomaston, Ga. He was a loving and giving son, brother, uncle, godfather, cousin, grandson, nephew and friend. Josh touched the life of every person who knew him. He made us laugh when we wanted to cry and smile when we wanted to frown. Josh was determined to give his life meaning. He wanted to change the lives of others for the better. With his death he was able to give eight strangers a new chance of life through his organ donation.
He was a true hero in life and in death, to his parents, family and friends. All who knew Josh would describe him as a ray of light, beacon of happiness, and a shining star. Josh knew no strangers, and has more friends than one could count, everyone who knew him loved him. He would want to be remembered by his smile, his laugh, his giving spirit, his sense of humor, his intelligence and his heart.
Josh was a graduate of Powell Valley High School Class of 2007. Josh was employed by Sykes in Wise, as a members service representative. Josh will be missed by all.
He is preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, Odie Ridings; paternal grandmother, Maude Ridings; maternal grandfather, Brownie Lipps; and maternal grandmother, Lucille Lipps.
Josh is survived by his loving parents, Sandy and Greg Ridings of Dryden; his brother, Greg Allen Ridings II of Big Stone Gap, sister-in-law, Melissa Yorke of Big Stone Gap, godson and nephew, Jackson Ridings of Big Stone Gap; his brother, Jason Moore and wife, Kelly and nephews, Cory Moore, Cameron Moore and Blakey Moore of Dryden; and several aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends.
The funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Friday, April 30, at the Province Funeral Home Sanctuary in Pennington Gap, with The Rev. Duke Barker, The Rev. Clyde Hester and The Rev. John Dickerson officiating. Burial will follow at Lee Memorial Gardens in Woodway. The visitation will be from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. Thursday, April 29, at the funeral home.
Pallbearers will be Greg Allen Ridings II, Jason Moore, Casey Bentley, Michael Austin, Chris Akins, Robbie Middleton, Kenny Stanley, Michael Mullins, Leonard Bowen and Brandon Bentley with many others to follow.
Josh’s family would like to thank each and every person who offered their support and condolences during this difficult time. Josh’s parents would like each of them to always remember how Josh touched their life and made a difference. The family would like to give special thanks to Emily and Sidney for their support.
Condolences can be sent to the family by e-mail to provincefuneralhome@earthlink.net
Kara Dalton (2007)
This is a photo from 2008 of Josh & his nephew & godson, whom he cared for very much. (& hope they dont mind the posting of this photo<3 )I just really like this photo of him, with his big smile & bright eyes :) because, unless something was wrong, & even then, sometimes.. this is the Josh we know, the one I always saw, every day of school & who brightened my day & made me look forward to going to school :)
Beware, its long..
It says to enter memories & comments about Josh, but there isnt enough paper, pens, pencils, space or even time in the world for me to do that, because there are SO many memories and so much I could say. Josh was honestly the most beautiful person I have ever been blessed enough to not only know of him, but to really know him..to be one he came to, that he would trust to tell things to and know I'd keep it to myself. He helped me, not only with advice, but just by being..just him being and being a friend in school, made me ok & helped me more than he could ever imagine..since moving here and beginning classes with me in the 4th grade.. One memory I do know is short enough to say is on a "live journal" post from the 8th grade, which I still have.. I had went on and on, every detail of the dance and how excited I was that he danced with me and then about how we got to sit alone and just talk and how much i loved it.. then he left a comment and later a written note saying "Hey, Kara I never really knew you cared soo much about just talking to me and being near me.. Guess I dont know everything. Hahaha" .. & well, for him to admit that he didnt know something like that was a big thing anyway, haha. Not sure what to say, because as I said before, there's no way to tell it all..this is only a tiny piece and already this long.. Josh, is a beautiful, silly, crazy, sarcastic, colorful, "sunshiney", loving, funny, caring, thoughtful, good-hearted person.. one of the only I could honestly say had never let me down. The world truly is a darker place without him here with us, at least myself, along with his family & friends will agree.. It's a tragedy that a person failed to yield caused this, their impatience of waiting and making sure it was clear, cost this world one of the best people.. It seems unreal, still. I am personally, missing a huge part of me, he was more than just a friend & has always been there, anything to do with school mentioned & his name was to follow. Everyone without him feels lost. There's no way to put it except it there are a lot of broken hearted people, mine included, just shattered by this.. all we can do is try to make a difference, remember Josh with a smile & try to heal, if thats possible. He will be forever loved, forever missed & thought of every day.
Always let people know what you feel & think, just do it and if need be--keep trying a while.. b/c if you dont go for it you wont know & if you do and it doesnt work, you'll know you tried & wont have to wonder, & dont take people for granted--assuming they'll always be there, stay in touch, just because you graduate, doesnt mean you shouldnt make every effort to still see them. Take a chance & let what you think be known, you never know if you'll get tomorrow, so make it known today; because if you'd asked us when we graduated, we would have never guessed only 3 years later we'd be losing a member of our graduating class, especially him, no one would believe it..
* & some advice, the words of Josh:
"There's a reason you aren't invisible, so make it count.
Do something. Change something.
Make it known that you are here. Just live!" -- JWR
iloveyou&missyou, always "kid".
"..save a place for me"
«3 Kara [AKA: "shortstuff".."little 'en".."polly pocket"] :)
[FACT: I called him kid because he always told me how I looked younger like a kid.. & I'd joke, I may look younger.. but you're the one who's younger "kid".. & well, for what he called me, he'd go on of how short or little i was, he's the only one who could get away with that* ..polly pocket was from a Teacher Cadet day, he saw a little girl with a polly pocket -& being great with kids like he was-- bended down to her level, held and looked at the doll & told her he had a friend that looked kinda like that.. he then tells me if i were smaller id fit in his pocket. lol]
-thankful for the memories <3