Help Us Bring Joe Home

If I could describe my brother, Joe, in one word... nah, nevermind, I can't. It's not possible to describe him with just one word. If you knew him, then you get it. He was tough yet gentle, funny and infuriating, insanely good at everything he did. He played guitar and drums, he did flooring with our brother and dad. He worked on cars. There wasn't anything he couldn't do. He acted out movie scenes like Ace Ventura and did it better than Jim Carrey. He looked like Heath Ledger and Mark Wahlberg, depending on the day and his hair. All the girls adored him wherever he went, and all the guys wanted to be his friend (even if it was because they were a little scared of him... haha... oh, and he was quite the troublemaker when we were growing up). He worked hard, he played hard, and he loved even harder.

The last 20 years or so have been difficult and trying. It began with the murder of our 19-year-old baby sister, Jody. After that, I began to see my brother, who I loved and adored so much, start to change. Little by little, he slipped away until his mind could no longer continue, and it broke. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar about 10 years ago. It's been quite the rickety, old, wooden rollercoaster of emotions for my family and me since then.

Until December 15. We had a visit from a Sheriff's Deputy with a message that we needed to call the St. Louis Medical Examiner's office regarding Joe. We don't really know much about why he was in St. Louis or the circumstances surrounding his death or the discovery of his body. I am working on getting answers, and we are awaiting test results. And like most families today, things are extremely tight financially. We have to come up with the money to pay for his cremation and shipment of his remains to us. Anything you can donate would be such a blessing to us, even if it's just a prayer to help us navigate this unexpected gravel road full of potholes and debris that we find ourselves on right now.

Thank you so much. May God bless you and yours. You are loved.

The Grissom Family