Joseph Jones died unexpectedly on July 30, 2018, from an overdose. He was 29 years old, and his life was tragically taken too soon. His family is devastated, and has been forever changed.
Joey had a huge heart. He always had a great sense of humor, and he loved to make people laugh and see the positives in life.
Joey was always the one to pick people up. It didn’t matter how upset you were, he always had something comforting to say, and a way to get you smiling and laughing. Joseph was brilliant, sensitive, kind, caring, and very charming. He was like a diamond, with so many facets.
During his childhood years he loved hanging with his best friend Alan Forts, Jon Jacobs, Daniel Garde, and Michael Baird … those are just a few of his many friends. They would adventure through the woods, downtown Vineyard Haven, the Tisbury School, and the cemetery.
During Joey’s high school years he played football, and started to explore his art. Joey was a tremendous artist. He was also a genius at mathematics. He loved chess, and won several championships. He loved to inspire and lead — a true humanitarian.
Joseph, along with his brother David, taught himself guitar. Joseph loved music, any type. He was gifted: Give him 10 minutes with any instrument, and he could play you a beautiful song.
Joseph struggled for many years with addiction, a daily battle that he was winning for awhile. When he joined up with Tabor Tree, Dennis Redican, and Riley Doble, he started to find his true self and do what he always loved to do: Climb trees. His nickname was and will always be “Tree Top Flyer.” He also joined his lifelong friend Michael Baird and the band the Black Eyed Susans. He had found his way, his joy, and purpose.
More than anything, Joseph loved people. He would spark up a conversation with anyone wherever he went.
Joseph’s opioid addiction was the battle of his life, by far the toughest he ever endured. He tried with all his strength, heart, and soul to fight the demons and the disease that took his life.
The day he died, a part of each of us died. He will be deeply missed for the rest of our lives. It is heartbreaking and intolerable. His family feels very strongly that stories like Joey’s should be talked about openly, without shame, and not ignored. The only way to conquer this disease is to share our stories, raise awareness, and end the stigma.
Joey is survived by his loving parents, Elizabeth Oliver Jones and John Jones, by his maternal grandparents, Sandra and Jim Wells, and his paternal grandmother, Patricia Blackman; great-aunts Lorraine Kornek and Barbara Jones; great-uncles Patrick and Bob Jones; by his siblings Shelly Reed, her husband Phil Reed, and David Jones, and his wife Raleigh Russell Jones; his niece Lyla James, and his nephews Cole, Damon, Jesse, Nico, and Lennox; his aunts, Jessica Oliver, Alison Barrett, Deana and Debbie Dickerson, and uncles, Jesse Oliver and Craig Dickerson; by his cousins, LuAnna, Gary, Jacob, Kayla, Desmond, Silas, Brian, and Kevin; and by who we believe was the love of his life, Brianna Smith. God bless him.
