Joshua James Middlekauff

Josh, you will truly be missed by many. I am honored to have had the opportunity to work with you. You kept me grounded with compassion that I sometimes lost. I thank you for all your support during my rough times with my daughter. Not only were you an angle down here, you will be a bigger one up there.

Josh was a good friend of mine in Santa Cruz. We spend many days at the beach playing frisbee, enjoying trips to our favorite taqueria, enjoying trivia nights, and playing pool at a local dive bar.

He was a fantastic and joyful presence for me and an overwhelmingly positive influence; I'll think back on the years I spent as his friend with a lot of laughter and gratitude.

I have a memory from about 2004-2005 that was always funny for me to think back on:
We were at my house in Capitola and I made some quesadillas as a snack. Knowing his penchant for hot sauce, I showed him my collection and he chose the Mad Dog 357-which is very hot-; he SMOTHERED the quesadilla with it. I begged him not to eat it, but he stubbornly added more and more. He consumed the whole thing, broke out in a sweat, went silent for a few minutes, then laid down on my couch. He stayed there quietly for a about an hour, then in a moment of unexpected vibrance made for himself an Irish Goodbye.
I spoke to him the next day and we laughed about the whole ordeal.

I've missed him over the years and that won't change.

May his memory be eternal!