Obituary of Josiah B. Boulet

Josiah B. Boulet, of Queens NY, passed away with peace and grace on Sunday, December 23, 2018 at 12:15am at home with his family.  Josiah was 11 years old and was born on June 15, 2007 in Brooklyn, New York to Mr. & Mrs. Jean and Linnette Francis Boulet.  Josiah attended Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Academy and was an alter server and member of Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Church.

Josiah was diagnosed with Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG), a rare and aggressive brain tumor, in December 2017.  We were in total disbelief and asked ourselves, how could a healthy athletic 10-year-old with such zest for life be diagnosed and given only 9 to 12 months to live. We were determined to fight this disease with Josiah and for a year we struggled with this challenge.  We continued to go through life as if things were normal. We engaged Josiah in the same activities throughout radiation and clinical trials and different homeopathic remedies. He was blessed with several happy and productive months until September of 2018 when he began to rapidly decline. He could no longer attend school or participate in normal activities and was bedbound for the last three months of his precious life. Even though his health deteriorated, his spirit was not broken. He was still determined to fight and to get well, he never complained and always thanked others for everything they did for him. This was the norm throughout Josiah’s gentle life.

Josiah was a loving little boy who was full of life and loved life. He always had a smile on his face and love to perform chores. Most of all, he loved to cook and spend time with his brother Joshua who he admired. He also loved to play with friends and classmates. Josiah knew how to make others feel better about themselves. He would complement others on how good they looked and how good they cooked, and he noticed different positives changes about others. He was very grateful, thankful, very caring, compassionate, and loved to take trips with family and friends. Josiah was known to be fast, funny, sharp, smart, and very resourceful. Josiah was a unique and extremely inquisitive person. He wanted to know how and why things work. He wanted to become an engineer and build things.

Josiah was very athletic and loved the following activities: bike-riding, scootering, track and field, swimming, and basketball. He loved to play and had a fascination with airplanes, cars, buses, trucks, and would read any books on vehicles and loved to ride the Long Island Rail Road and Metro North. He also loved science and playing chess. His favorite color was green.  A few of his favorite shows were SpongeBob, Family Feud, The Amazing World of Gumball, Young Justice, The Flash, Troll hunters, Transformers, How to Train a Dragon, Shark Tank, Undercover Boss. His favorite songs were Faded by Allen Walker, Marshmello by Monstercat and New York by Alicia Keys and Jay-Z.  He always loved when I sang: “One day at time around the house”.

On his last night with his family, Josiah was peacefully sitting on his favorite recliner with a radiant glow on his face and a light surrounding him. We spent his final hours telling him how much we loved him.  When Josiah peacefully passed on, we took comfort knowing that his angel came, and he is now with his Creator, and he is at peace. 

Josiah will be profoundly missed; He gave us 11 years 6 months of love, and excitement during his short time on earth. He leaves us rich in memories and filled with love and peace. You have fulfilled your purpose on earth, bringing joy to your family and friends. Even though you have transcended physically from this world, your memory will live indelibly in our hearts forever.  We all love you Josiah Brendan Boulet may you rest peacefully with your angels.