It's taken me a couple of days to prepare myself to write this final post . . . a post I was hoping would never need to be written . . .

Joel passed away peacefully at 4:21 am on July 19, 2022, surrounded by love and prayers from his mother Pam, his sisters Tiffany and Celeste, our daughter Kate, and me.

Although this journey is one we didn't want to take, I've tried to focus on the gifts it provided . . . the gift of time . . . time to grow even closer to one another, time to tell each other everything we wanted and needed to say, time to reminisce about the life we shared, and time to strengthen and deepen our faith.

I truly believe it was God's divine intervention that provided us with another gift . . . an angel at St. Luke's . . . a nurse named Erica . . . she made an impossibly difficult journey easier to navigate because of her kindness, compassion, love, and strength.  We bonded with her instantly and she provided the majority of Joel's daytime care throughout his hospital stay.   When he transferred to ICU, she went with him and cared for him during his final two days.  

The gift of presence . . . Erica and the doctors advocated strongly (and successfully!) to allow me to stay with Joel 24/7 during his entire hospital stay, even though it was technically against hospital policy.   

The gift of compassion . . . although our relationship with Joel's oncologist had just begun, he came to see Joel in the hospital and called me multiple times a day to offer encouragement and hope.  He was patient with me when I was upset and confused about what was happening.  He has contacted me a couple of times since Tuesday to offer his condolences, stating he wished he could have done more for Joel.  He also gave me his personal cell phone number with the offer to contact him if we need anything or just want to talk.  

He also told me that over the years, he's had patients who touched him deeply . . . patients he will always remember . . . he said Joel is one of those patients. 

Joel's funeral mass will be held on Thursday, July 28th at 10 am at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Nampa, with burial of ashes at Mount Calvary Cemetery (also in Nampa) immediately following.  A reception will be held at St. Paul's following the burial. 

If anyone has pictures of Joel or stories they'd like to share, please email them to IdahoSchmidts@gmail.com.

Our family wants to thank all of you from the bottom of our hearts for the overwhelming outpouring of love, support, and continued prayers for strength and peace.

Laura