Josh's Memorial Video

This video was shown at the end of Josh's remembrance ceremony.

A few precious pieces of my friend's life that end much, much too soon.





-Swinebread

Movie of the Week: Say Uncle

Josh had a role in this film as the Crunchy Man





-Swinebread

There's No Business Like Josh Business

How can I do another post on Atomic Romance after my friend Josh died? It just seems pointless and extremely crass. Also, the sadness is just unbearable.

But I’ve been thinking a lot about Josh’s worldview since he passed and about what a considerate guy he was. Would Josh really want me to stop doing something others and I enjoy… …of course not. He would absolutely want me to continue with Atomic Romance. He was an actor after all (among other things) and the “show must go on” would actually be something he would tell me about this. Plus, Josh loved comic books and superheroes. I’ve realized that I’d be letting him down by not continuing.

How do I restart the wacky narrative that is Atomic Romance? How do I push passed the death of one the most important people in the world to me when all I want to do is keeping talking about him forever? I don’t want Josh Westhaver to be just a guest star or a couple of posts here on Atomic Romance. Well, that’s why I started the Memories of Joshua Westhaver. I want the discussion about how great he was to go on forever and it will. There are just too many memories from too many lives to let Josh go silently into the night.

On another note several people thanked me at the Remembrance Ceremony for my posts about Josh here on Atomic Romance and for starting the Memories of Joshua Westhaver blog. That warmed my heart. All I can say back is thank you for caring about Josh so much.

To get things restarted here with a little bit of joy, I thought I’d share something with you that many have been waiting for. I’ve been kinda weird about posting pictures of Swinebread Jr. on the net but I thought now was a good time for you all to see how much I’m truly blessed and what it is that has been keeping me and the wife going during these very sad days. I give you my son.


What a beautiful bundle of joy huh?

So it is with much tears for what we have all lost and with much hope from the children in our lives that Atomic Romance returns to it’s regularly scheduled blogging… only now it has a sister site dedicated to a great human being that I’ll miss for as long as I live.


-Swinebread

I wanted to make sure folks heard about Josh's remembrance event. Just in case you haven't received the word.

Brian Westhaver left a comment with the info that I'm reposting here.

This is Josh's brother. I wanted to thank you for your kind words. I know how special Josh was to me and it's obvious that he touched the lives of many.


I'm trying to get word out that there will be a remembrance for Josh this coming Monday the 15th, 5:00pm at Portland Center Stage's Gerding theater. Please come if you would like and pass along to anyone who knew him.

Thank you
Brian


Also make sure you stop by the memories of Joshua Westhaver blog too

My oldest and dearest friend Josh Westhaver died this morning. He’d been on life support for the last couple of days because of extreme complications caused by a massive asthma attack that resulted in cardiac arrest. I visited him last night after work and I thought I’d get a chance to see him one more time today… but it was not to be. He was 36 years old.

Josh was such a peaceful and kind person and on top of that was very creative. We went to college together and shared many a dramatic moment on stage back in my acting days. He was that fantastic guy that you felt you already knew your whole life the first time you met him. He was also a strong environmentalist too and actually walked the walk, so to speak, and I always felt he was the prototypical Portlander. His essential goodness, simply put, made this planet a better place…. and I can’t even begin to imagine the rest of my life without him.

Here's Josh in a mini-documentary I did about him and his cat in 2003.


UPDATE: I've started a new blog about Josh here

-Swinebread