Joshua Elbert Ball

Joshua "Josh" Elbert Ball was born in St. Louis, MO on January 28, 2000, and passed away at home in St. Charles, MO on June 20, 2022. Josh would not have wanted a traditional obituary. We, his loved ones, choose to honor his memory by sharing what we loved most about him. It is said that you die twice: once when you take your last breath and once more when someone says your name for the very last time. With this in mind, we gather to ensure that Josh will outlive us all.

Not a single person who ever met Josh could deny two of his crowning traits: his larger-than-life personality and his loving generosity. Those who knew Josh best describe him as a giant teddy bear with the warmest heart, covered by a remarkably thick outer shell. Once you broke past it, it was impossible to shake him, as Josh was loyal to a fault. He was always there when you needed him, especially if it had anything to do with a car or engine of any sort. Josh loved endlessly. He experienced the world intensely and was the happiest person in the world on his best days.

His memories, we pledge to carry with us to our last breaths. Among our fondest are riding with Josh on his boat or jet ski, driving with him and listening to music, being outdoors, working on projects, and playing with his dogs. Josh always worked to uplift the spirits of those around him, even when he was upset. Even if you never saw him, he'd reach out to invite you to come to the lake with him, excitedly detailing his latest success in taking something broken, discarded, or worn down and breathing into its new life. He had an uncanny talent for restoring both people and machines in this way.

Josh was also stubborn, competitive, and hard-headed. We believe he'd find this recollection in good humor, for Josh wasn't just against superficial obituaries and public funerals full of people who hardly knew him, but he was also unabashedly funny and carried humor with him everywhere he went, almost as if it were a badge of honor. We will remember how during arguments, he might suddenly realize he was wrong, which of course required of him a change of subject to something he could indeed be right about. This black-and-white lens of the world perhaps is what made him so eager to help others without hesitation: Josh had a very strong, deeply personal sense of what was wrong and right.

We, his loved ones, now mourn him with the deepest sorrow. We recognize that these mourning services are for the living, despite our best efforts to make this about him. It pains us to imagine all the great things we hoped he'd someday have the chance to complete: a rewarding career as an auto technician, lively trips around the globe with his brothers, owning a boat large enough to effortlessly pull our slowly enlarging bodies up on water skis, and marriage to his loving partner, Ashley. We could never fill your shoes, Josh, but we hope that we can spend our lives making this world a better place for you and becoming people you would have been incomprehensibly proud of.

Josh, you will be remembered with these sentiments for as long as there is breath in our bodies and for as long as we have two brain cells left to rub together to retain a memory (though Jaxsen would have us know that this is not how the human brain works).

Josh is survived by his partner, Ashley Riegel, twin brother Jarrett, parents Nivia "Candy" Ball, Jeffrey and Betsy Ball, grandparents Kathy Ball, and Dan and Rose Ball, great-grandmother Jo Claire Ball, siblings Jaxsen, and Justin, special cousin Gavin Keane, his dog Jack, and many aunts, uncles and cousins. Josh was preceded in death by grandparents, Zenobio and Nivia Ramirez and an infant sister, Janay.

Josh, we can't agree on what happens after this life. Perhaps you know better than we do. Regardless, we want you to know that we love you with every cell in our body, with every particle of matter in the universe and beyond. There is an empty space in the universe that you've left and we will spend our lives trying to fill it in vain. We only hope you will be proud of our efforts to do such.

There will be private family services taking place.


To share a memory of Josh or leave a special message for his family, please visit the guestbook below.