GypsySorcerer
01-19-2005, 09:19 PM
We included this story on my office's blog. One of our bloggers encouraged everyone who "Supports Our Troops" to pay attention, or else more Joes will be lost.
Homeless man who died in cold remembered by friends
COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- About 50 mourners gathered to honor a Vietnam veteran who froze to death alone beneath a railroad bridge on Christmas Eve.
Joe Young, 57, died in single-digit cold a few blocks from a shelter where he had previously stayed and a few days before he was to move into an apartment that had been arranged for him.
"That was the saddest thing," said the Rev. Gregg Anderson of the 70 x 7 Evangelistic Ministry in Highland Heights. "He died frozen like a giant block of ice under a bridge, alone."
As word of Young's death spread, friends and strangers contributed a total of $2,100 to make sure he had a decent send-off.
Rachel Winters of Welcome House, a homeless advocacy group in Covington, spoke of the bond she developed with Young.
"Because all of you are here I don't think his life was without meaning," she said.
Anderson, who volunteered to conduct Young's funeral, also had a story to tell about a personal encounter with Young. In 1997, when Anderson was planning a mission trip to Latvia, Young pulled $50 from his pocket and handed it to him, Anderson said.
"I tried not to take it, but he insisted he would be offended if I didn't," Anderson said.
Following last Friday's funeral, mourners walked to a street corner where a military honor guard fired a 21-gun salute to Young, an Air Force veteran.
The final stop in the ceremony was the spot where Young died. The mourners picked their way down concrete stairs, through an overgrowth of foliage and down a steep embankment to the underside of the bridge, where Young had a campsite along the railroad tracks.
Larry Schuler of the Recovery Network of Covington, a homeless advocacy group, poured Young's ashes from an urn onto the ground that he had called home.
"Joe, you're gone but you're not forgotten," Schuler said.
Schuler then walked over to Young's friend, William "Red Dog" Strutz, who is also homeless.
"Find a warm place to stay tonight and come see me tomorrow," Schuler said. "I don't want you to be the next Joe Young."
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Information from: The Cincinnati Post, http://www.cincypost.com
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.
Homeless man who died in cold remembered by friends
COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) -- About 50 mourners gathered to honor a Vietnam veteran who froze to death alone beneath a railroad bridge on Christmas Eve.
Joe Young, 57, died in single-digit cold a few blocks from a shelter where he had previously stayed and a few days before he was to move into an apartment that had been arranged for him.
"That was the saddest thing," said the Rev. Gregg Anderson of the 70 x 7 Evangelistic Ministry in Highland Heights. "He died frozen like a giant block of ice under a bridge, alone."
As word of Young's death spread, friends and strangers contributed a total of $2,100 to make sure he had a decent send-off.
Rachel Winters of Welcome House, a homeless advocacy group in Covington, spoke of the bond she developed with Young.
"Because all of you are here I don't think his life was without meaning," she said.
Anderson, who volunteered to conduct Young's funeral, also had a story to tell about a personal encounter with Young. In 1997, when Anderson was planning a mission trip to Latvia, Young pulled $50 from his pocket and handed it to him, Anderson said.
"I tried not to take it, but he insisted he would be offended if I didn't," Anderson said.
Following last Friday's funeral, mourners walked to a street corner where a military honor guard fired a 21-gun salute to Young, an Air Force veteran.
The final stop in the ceremony was the spot where Young died. The mourners picked their way down concrete stairs, through an overgrowth of foliage and down a steep embankment to the underside of the bridge, where Young had a campsite along the railroad tracks.
Larry Schuler of the Recovery Network of Covington, a homeless advocacy group, poured Young's ashes from an urn onto the ground that he had called home.
"Joe, you're gone but you're not forgotten," Schuler said.
Schuler then walked over to Young's friend, William "Red Dog" Strutz, who is also homeless.
"Find a warm place to stay tonight and come see me tomorrow," Schuler said. "I don't want you to be the next Joe Young."
---
Information from: The Cincinnati Post, http://www.cincypost.com
© 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy.