Joshua Lee Gillespie, 1978-2023, Funeral Expenses

Hi friends and family. My name is Cindy Gillespie. I lost my little brother, Joshua Gillespie, unexpectedly on 12/28/2023. He was 45 years old and battled asthma his entire life. After a recent bout with the flu, his asthma started becoming more problematic, and it seems it ultimately took him from us in the very early morning hours of Dec 28th.

Joshua was a single father who worked very hard to care for his daughter and his disabled mother. Each day, he strived to be the best man he could be. He worked extraordinarily hard to instill the values of family, education, hard work, and perseverance in his beautiful daughter, Hannah.

Hannah is a senior in the International Baccalaureate program at John Ehret High School. She's now an orphan with no income and no real means of support. She is utterly devasted and destroyed to have lost her father, who was her rock and her biggest cheerleader and who pushed her every day to be the very best that she could be. My mom receives very little each month in SS disability, she has no funds to pay for her only son's funeral. Hannah will continue to live with her grandmother until she finishes high school, but my mom has no idea how she's going to get by without my brother's additional income in the immediate future.

We desperately need help to cover Joshua's funeral expenses and help pay my mom and Hannah's housing/food/living expenses in the coming months. I work tirelessly to provide for my family, but I just can't do this one thing by myself. I am completely overwhelmed and inconsolable with grief, I am devastated beyond measure, I am struggling to deal with losing this wonderful man that I loved so much and cherished with all my heart.

In lieu of flowers, direct donations to help cover funeral expenses are graciously accepted by the funeral home, Westside/Leitz-Egan Funeral Home, Marrero, LA, 504*341*9421 before 4pm CST each day. (Direct donations to the funeral home help tremendously because they are not subject to fundraising fees/taxes so 100% of your help goes to pay down expenses). I don't have firm details on a memorial service date since this is a holiday weekend, but I should have more information soon.

Anything you can do to help is greatly appreciated. 

With Love and Deepest Gratitude,

The Gillespie Family