Joshua Taylor Woodcock

For the past sixteen years and seven months, Joshua has brought incredible joy, laughter, fun and endless excitement to his Momma, Dad, Sister, and many countless family members and friends. Joshua is our “miracle baby” because the doctors were surprised that he was conceived when he was. God was quickly given the honor and praise as we gave testimony to the fact that this child had been prayed for by many and that God is the Author of life and nothing is impossible with Him. To God be all the glory for the amazing life that Joshua has lived and for the countless lives that he touched in life and even through his transition into Heaven with his Lord and Savior. Joshua will be indescribably missed by all of those who love him but we have the blessed hope that one day, we will all be together again in Heaven where there will be no more tears and all of the “whys” will be known and we will spend eternity together worshiping the Lord and giving honor for all of the great things He has done.

In February of 2002, after years of trying, much prayer, and through the help of Jacksonville Center of Reproductive Medicine, God blessed us with a little heartbeat that stole our hearts from its first moments. I clearly remember hearing the staff outside the room talking about the bloodwork and how it didn’t seem as though Joshua should have been conceived. These moments quickly led into an opportunity to give praise to the Lord and remind that HE alone is the Author of life. Throughout his life in the womb, Joshua was kind to his momma. He didn’t make her have morning sickness even once but he surely made her very hot. On November 11th, 2002 we tried to get him here but he said, “no thank you, I like it in here just fine.” He thought it was best to wait and come on his own terms the next day on the 12th. Even from his birth, he was stubborn, and didn’t appreciate authority telling him what to do.

As a little boy, he was so fun and full of life. Joshua loves every super hero and was sure to dress up like them. Probably his favorites were Spiderman, Batman, and Superman. He had two capes that he often wore alone with only cowboy boots on his feet. I can see him now running around the yard playing. When he was little, he also always said that he was “part coyote.” He wasn’t playing either, he really meant it. He showed his teeth and made his hands look like paws. When he was little, we had the blessing of momma being able to stay home with him and we quickly became bonded together in all things. He loved to work in the yard, create masterpieces in the kitchen, take strolls in the zoo…..all kinds of things. When he entered into preschool, he had so much fun. He was always so smart and learned quickly how to read. One of his “gifts” was reading at a very young age. I remember that when he was four years old, he read “The Hungry Caterpillar” to his class. I also remember his sweet teacher telling me that Joshua was the boy who everyone wanted to be friends with. His smile and personality has been contagious from the beginning of his life. His laugh will be missed more than imaginable.

During his elementary years, Joshua continued to excel academically and was typically always on the honor roll. During one of the years (I believe 4th grade) at Grace Lutheran, he learned about Monarch Butterflies and how they have the potential of becoming endangered. From that year all the way to this year, he has actively raised Monarchs and Milkweed plants. He has grown the plants from seeds and lovingly cared for these butterflies. He said that he didn’t want to one day tell his children and grandchildren that he knew they were in trouble and didn’t help to save them. Yes, he may have been “all boy” but he certainly had a tender side to him. This is one of the ways that he showed it. We just spoke of his plants days before his accident. In elementary school at Grace, he began his love for sports which would include Basketball, Soccer, Flag Football, and then Track. He did pretty well in all of them but as we all know, he found his gift in running. And oh how that boy could run and loved it! He ran the 100, 200, 400, and 400 relay and Long Jump at Grace.

Moving on to Middle School, Let’s just say so much transition came with these years. They were hard in many ways but Joshua is the most amazing teenager I have ever or will ever know. He went through some ups and downs academically and even jumped into some rebellion, quickly driving his momma nuts. The beginning of 6th grade was trying and landed him a trip right back to Grace Lutheran. At the end of the year he promised that he would be okay and would do his best at Mandarin Middle if allowed to go back. After signing a contract, yes a contract with Momma, he made his way back to Mandarin Middle where he made it through successfully both academically and in his sports. He played Football for one season. In his middle school years, Joshua quickly developed a true love for running and this is where he began developing his skills. Joshua did very well and was second in the city for one of his races. He also created deep relationships with his coaches which allowed him to return to the middle school to help out and encourage middle school runners after he was gone and in High School.

Once he moved on to Mandarin High, he continued running and striving to beat his personal records. His love for running never left him, even to the very day of his accident. Joshua not only ran for his school but also recently joined the Jacksonville Athletic Club track team. He was so upset because he couldn’t seem to get where he wanted by running school track only. His hope was to improve with more direct coaching and year around conditioning. Just recently, he added the long jump back and was doing well. In the first meet after adding it back, he came in third place, jumping about 18 feet off of the wrong foot! He and his coach laughed so hard because only they knew what had just happened. Joshua did not only excel in track but upon entering into high school, he immediately joined NJROTC and was more than dedicated to it. His plans were to have a military career in the future. Joshua’s love for our country stems all the way back to his early childhood where he was even awarded the “Patriotism” award in K-5. His teacher said “He is respectful of and grateful for the sacrifices the people in the military make for him. He loves his country!” That love has only grown immensely. He quickly jumped in full force with participation with NJROTC. He was decorated with many ribbons and medals which made him and his family proud. Some of the teams that he participated in were athletics, orienteering, armed exhibition, and color guard. His Captain and Chiefs wrote: “He joined JROTC because he wanted to be a leader. He was the first to volunteer for any task. The only time he wouldn’t volunteer with JROTC was when he had a church service or event that conflicted. He wanted to be the best at whatever he did and there was no room for second place.” There aren’t enough ways to say thank you to this amazing organization who consistently strived to instill discipline, leadership, patriotism, and dedication to excellence in all things. As you will see at his Celebration, it all meant so much to him. He had recently just earned the honor, through his hard work and dedication, the recognition of becoming a Chief Petty Officer. This recognition will take place at his graveside on Friday. Joshua’s family would like to say thank you to all of his leaders. In an effort to give back to them, we are asking that in lieu of flowers, donations be made in his honor to the Mandarin High NJROTC Booster Club.