Joe Brown Scholarship Fund
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Please help us to start the Joseph A. Brown Jr. Scholarship Fund in memory of Joe Brown, Class of 1998 at Coudersport Area Jr/Sr High School.
The Joseph A. Brown Scholarship provides financial assistance for qualifying seniors at Coudersport Area Jr/Sr High School who have overcome tremendous adversity, demonstrated academic achievement and given back to their communities. The scholarship fund was started in 2016 in memory of Joseph (Joe) Brown, who tragically passed away on October 5, 2003.
Joe Brown had lived in Coudersport, PA his entire life attending Mapleview day care and Coudersport Area Elementary and Jr/Sr High Schools. He was raised by single mother Becky (Gradl) Froebel and was a very active child, often found playing soccer or snowboarding. In 1997, during a regular visit to Denton Hill ski area, 16 year old Joe had a snowboarding accident that severed his spinal cord and left him instantly quadriplegic. He was air lifted to Erie, PA and spent the next several months in the hospital recovering. Through his sheer will and determination, Joe was able to rehabilitate and gain limited use of his hands and motion in his head.
Although he was out of school for most of his junior year and had to catch up with tutors and summer sessions, Joe was able to graduate with his classmates in June of 1998. There wasn’t a dry eye in the building when he cruised his wheelchair across the stage at the Coudersport Consistory and received his diploma to a standing ovation. Despite all odds, Joe had overcome tremendous adversity during what should have been the best years of his childhood.
Joe’s mom Becky had made it her mission to make Joe’s life as normal as possible for him. As his primary caregiver, she equipped her home with wheelchair accessible ramps and moved Joe’s bedroom to the first floor. In 2001, they were able to purchase a handicap accessible van that Joe could operate on his own via a touch-pad screen. This newfound freedom was encouraging for Joe and he would use that van to go anywhere. He often traveled alone whether it was running local errands or taking trips to Boston. If he needed help with his colostomy bag during one of his excursions, he would stop at a rest area and ask for help from strangers who were always glad to help.
In 2003, on a routine drive near Coudersport Joe’s van malfunctioned. The accelerator was stuck and the van proceeded to increase speed until it became evident to Joe he was going to rear end the dump truck in front of him. To avoid a collision, Joe turned the van off the side of the road and into a field full of hay bales. His airbags were deployed and Joe was thrown from his wheelchair across the van’s midsection. He wasn’t badly injured but due to his immobility, he was unable to pull himself back to the chair. His van lay obscured under a grove of trees with no cellphone service in that remote part of the Allegheny Mountains.
Hours passed and Joe knew he was hidden from the view of the road. He also knew he was on a different road from where he originally had said he would be and any search for him might take a while. He passed the time by writing on his Sharp hand held device. As the time went on, he knew it was unlikely he would be rescued so he wrote one last note on his hand held titled “suicide”. In the note he addressed to his mother he explained the details of the crash and how he wanted her to know he did not commit suicide. Joe wrote “I didn’t commit suicide. Sorry for the title. But I was afraid that if I didn’t make it, that’s what people would think.” He continued “You’re probably wondering what happened. Good freakin question!!!...I think this all has something to do with that stupid accel button on the steering wheel.
Joe Brown, the 23 year old quadriplegic boy from rural Pennsylvania ended the note with "Oh Lord, Thank you for my mom. She truly has made many great sacrifices for me, many of which I don't even realize. Oh Lord, Thank You." As the temperature fell that night to about 38 degrees, Joe’s body did not generate enough heat to stay alive and he died of hypothermia according to the coroner’s report. His body was found two days later with his Sharp hand held device and his last words.
Becky spent the months following her son’s death advocating that all handicap adapted vehicles have a kill-switch and GPS tracking devices installed after she learned the faulty part of the van had also malfunctioned in at least one other incident. Her pleas were heard by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) who were considering a rulemaking to prevent similar accidents with throttles sticking. Unfortunately, the news of the potential ruling came a few days after Becky's untimely passing. The two are buried together on a hill overlooking the sleepy town of Coudersport, PA.
100% of the money raised via this account will go to establishing the scholarship fund.
Let's all do something together to memorialize our friend, Joe Brown.
Thank you!
The Joseph A. Brown Scholarship provides financial assistance for qualifying seniors at Coudersport Area Jr/Sr High School who have overcome tremendous adversity, demonstrated academic achievement and given back to their communities. The scholarship fund was started in 2016 in memory of Joseph (Joe) Brown, who tragically passed away on October 5, 2003.
Joe Brown had lived in Coudersport, PA his entire life attending Mapleview day care and Coudersport Area Elementary and Jr/Sr High Schools. He was raised by single mother Becky (Gradl) Froebel and was a very active child, often found playing soccer or snowboarding. In 1997, during a regular visit to Denton Hill ski area, 16 year old Joe had a snowboarding accident that severed his spinal cord and left him instantly quadriplegic. He was air lifted to Erie, PA and spent the next several months in the hospital recovering. Through his sheer will and determination, Joe was able to rehabilitate and gain limited use of his hands and motion in his head.
Although he was out of school for most of his junior year and had to catch up with tutors and summer sessions, Joe was able to graduate with his classmates in June of 1998. There wasn’t a dry eye in the building when he cruised his wheelchair across the stage at the Coudersport Consistory and received his diploma to a standing ovation. Despite all odds, Joe had overcome tremendous adversity during what should have been the best years of his childhood.
Joe’s mom Becky had made it her mission to make Joe’s life as normal as possible for him. As his primary caregiver, she equipped her home with wheelchair accessible ramps and moved Joe’s bedroom to the first floor. In 2001, they were able to purchase a handicap accessible van that Joe could operate on his own via a touch-pad screen. This newfound freedom was encouraging for Joe and he would use that van to go anywhere. He often traveled alone whether it was running local errands or taking trips to Boston. If he needed help with his colostomy bag during one of his excursions, he would stop at a rest area and ask for help from strangers who were always glad to help.
In 2003, on a routine drive near Coudersport Joe’s van malfunctioned. The accelerator was stuck and the van proceeded to increase speed until it became evident to Joe he was going to rear end the dump truck in front of him. To avoid a collision, Joe turned the van off the side of the road and into a field full of hay bales. His airbags were deployed and Joe was thrown from his wheelchair across the van’s midsection. He wasn’t badly injured but due to his immobility, he was unable to pull himself back to the chair. His van lay obscured under a grove of trees with no cellphone service in that remote part of the Allegheny Mountains.
Hours passed and Joe knew he was hidden from the view of the road. He also knew he was on a different road from where he originally had said he would be and any search for him might take a while. He passed the time by writing on his Sharp hand held device. As the time went on, he knew it was unlikely he would be rescued so he wrote one last note on his hand held titled “suicide”. In the note he addressed to his mother he explained the details of the crash and how he wanted her to know he did not commit suicide. Joe wrote “I didn’t commit suicide. Sorry for the title. But I was afraid that if I didn’t make it, that’s what people would think.” He continued “You’re probably wondering what happened. Good freakin question!!!...I think this all has something to do with that stupid accel button on the steering wheel.
Joe Brown, the 23 year old quadriplegic boy from rural Pennsylvania ended the note with "Oh Lord, Thank you for my mom. She truly has made many great sacrifices for me, many of which I don't even realize. Oh Lord, Thank You." As the temperature fell that night to about 38 degrees, Joe’s body did not generate enough heat to stay alive and he died of hypothermia according to the coroner’s report. His body was found two days later with his Sharp hand held device and his last words.
Becky spent the months following her son’s death advocating that all handicap adapted vehicles have a kill-switch and GPS tracking devices installed after she learned the faulty part of the van had also malfunctioned in at least one other incident. Her pleas were heard by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) who were considering a rulemaking to prevent similar accidents with throttles sticking. Unfortunately, the news of the potential ruling came a few days after Becky's untimely passing. The two are buried together on a hill overlooking the sleepy town of Coudersport, PA.
100% of the money raised via this account will go to establishing the scholarship fund.
Let's all do something together to memorialize our friend, Joe Brown.
Thank you!
Organizer
Casey Kio Ison
Organizer
Swedesboro, NJ