Tributes

A Poem from Nancy

Dear Joe,

The day has come where you have passed away,
I very much miss you but all I can say,
Is that you were the kindest and most generous lad,
Everything that you were was good and never bad.

You made me smile and made me laugh,
You were the smartest of them all and never usually daft,
You have passed away but you’re always here in my heart,
After all we’ve been through you were always top of my chart.

I love you lots and I miss you, 
But most of all I will never forget you,
You are always my brother,
A great boy like no other.

I will never forget the times we have had,
And thank you for that you precious little lad,
You were the best brother a girl could have at least
But I am happy for you that now your in peace.

I Love You Joe xx

From Nancy

Tribute from Joe's Godfather
Ash Kahn

I have got to say this is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do, so I hope to God that I don't have to go through this again.

Before I pay my family's tribute to little Joe, I would like to say to Andy & Judy that Liz and I were honoured to be his Godparents and I thank you for letting me speak today.

I, like some of you here, felt a special bond with Joe, not just because he was my Godson, or my closeness with Andy but also due to the fact that 8 years ago our families were on holiday together in Portugal where Joseph was unusually grizzly throughout. It later became apparent that these were the first signs of his terrible illness………….even though he was not diagnosed until a year later

We will all have our own memories of Joe, some similar some different! I will always remember pushing him around on those hot & sunny days in Portugal with his favourite blanket in tow which he fondly called his BLINKEY

I remember teaching him how to say TIME OUT to Nancy when she would be winding him up and the time I used to buy him JOOSTERS for him to only eat the GREEN ones.

And who can forget the phase he went through just eating FISH & CHIPS twice a day every day for about 2 months

I am sure you will hear the word special a lot when people are speaking about Joe. To me special is a word that is often used quite lightly or cheaply but let me tell you Joe was TRUELY SPECIAL in fact he was UNIQUE and what made him UNIQUE were the different sides to his personality.

Whilst Nancy would be on MYSPACE OR MSN Joe would be logged onto the sports pages for updates on his beloved BLUES & Warkwickshire County Cricket Club………………… SPORTS MAD

He knew everything that was going on, so much so that his DAD nicknamed him STATO

Joe could make you laugh in an instant because he was Witty and had a great sense of humour – another Andy in the making

Joe found my name Ashmal very amusing …………..along with Nancy they often teased me and called me ASH SMELLS..... On One of the days when I was sitting next to JOE ……….. he trumped……………started laughing and said " Now I Smell".…….Unbelievable

I know his grandad Brian often used the BRUMMIE terminology BAB in his presence…………………. Joe in turn called Brian…………. Grandad BAB

Joe also had a STUBBORN side to him, If he didn’t want to do something you had no chance!

You often had to bribe him to do the things he didn’t want to, Like the time he reluctantly agreed to go to the SAFARI PARK as long as he could take his laptop with him…………….and even then he said he wouldn’t look at the animals.

He was also KIND & THOUGHTFUL too.............how else can you describe a BLUES NUT being happy for his VILLA MAD friend if they won

I could go on.......................as I said he was UNIQUE

Coming from an ASIAN Background I know at first hand the value that an extended family brings especially at times like this and therefore I say to ANDY JUDY & NANCY all of us here are your EXTENDED FAMILY……………. because we will help you get through this by sharing your loss and pain.

IF I had consulted Joe about what to say and who to give a special mention to, he surely would have said:

Andy & Judy for being the best parents he could have wished for, tell them I am very proud of them and I loved them even more than they loved me!.

And

Nancy for being Nancy………”Don’t Change & look after Mom & Dad” he would have said.

Today should also be about celebrating Joe’s NINE & HALF years because even though he was too young to understand it………. He achieved a great deal and touched a lot of people.

If it hadn't been for him the Joseph Foote Charity would not have started, The Birmingham Children’s Hospital would not have benefited ……Those great nights we’ve all had at the Metropole were all down to Joe…………. I know he has inspired me many a time when I’m down or struggling to do something.

He has made me realise that you can have all the wealth in the world, but that is nothing compared to having your HEALTH.

We are all going to miss him immensely because he was such a character and had a presence!

I will miss putting my fist out to him and he doing the same and saying RESPECT

I will miss sending him texts and getting sarcastic ones back

I will miss him collaring me and everybody else in sight to PLAY CARDS for the Umpteenth time especially Happy FAMILIES & CHASE THE ACE..............which he always won by the way

Liz will miss going round to cut his hair, which he was so particular about

We will just miss him being around……………..FAIRFIELD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME

Finally I say sorry to JOE...........…….sorry because I briefly forgot his name at his christening……………. but I assure you JOE that I will never forget your name or you again.

God Bless Little JOE and RESPECT!