Joshua Thomas Linville-Engler August 4, 1982 - August 13, 2005
Joshua Linville-Engler came into the world at 4:09 pm on August 4th, 1982 in Plano, Texas. While many who knew Josh might have imagined him being large and loud – quite the opposite was true. Josh weighed in – a little over one month early - at just over 5 lbs., 19 inches long and quite blue. At 6 weeks of age, Josh had barely gained any weight.
At a few months old, Joshua had found his footing and began growing. While his Pops Verlyn worked at Geophysical Systems Instruments and his Mom Nancie worked at Texas Instruments, Josh received loving care during the workday from Mary Kolb. Mary was a neighbor in Plano – a nurse wanting to stay home with her young daughter. Mary was a great support to Nancie and Verlyn as new parents. Josh always liked the fact he was born in Texas.
One year of long workdays coupled with commuting and many nights without sleep - and a need for Verlyn to return to the family farm, meant a move for Joshua. By the time he was one, Josh and his parents were living at his Grandparents’ Linville house – just for a short time while the original Engler farmstead house was readied for another generation of the family. Josh spent his next years living three miles from his Grandma and Grandpa Engler - the Engler Farm headquarters - and fifteen miles from his Grandma and Grandpa Linville. Lots of Josh’s time was spent in various tractors, trucks and combines – and with his aunts, uncles and cousins.
On the exact day that Josh was two and a half, his younger brother Benjamin joined the family. Josh loved being Ben’s big brother – and their great relationship built strong roots from days playing outside at their farmhouse. Josh’s great joy – in addition to his new brother – was the new waterbed and dinosaur wall paper in his bedroom. Duplos (big Legos), blocks, dinosaurs, tractors, and trucks were favorite playthings. Typical story time included both brothers – and the greatest fun was wrestling with Pops.
Favorite pets included Blacky the German Shepherd and Jesse the Akita. These big dogs were always friendly with the family and kept strangers at a safe distance. One day their Grandpa Tom brought over his front-end loader and helped dig a giant sand box – 12 feet on a side and 3 feet deep. This became a favorite hangout for the boys (big and small).
The number of cousins in western Kansas grew to include Garrett and Jenny Linville – just a few miles away at the Linville farmstead. Josh lived at the Engler farmhouse until the spring of his kindergarten year. The 17 mile drive (one way) was playing havoc with Josh getting to school on time and life on the prairie wasn’t his Mom’s favorite. The family found a great house in Holcomb, Kansas. When the Linville-Englers moved to Verna Drive – more than ten boys within a few years of age of each other lived in the 15 house development. There were ready friends and many years of fun. In 1990, Matthew joined as the third – and only blond – Linville-Engler brother. Josh really enjoyed being the biggest brother – so having 2 younger brothers always seemed one of his greatest pleasures in life.
Josh attended Holcomb schools from pre-kindergarten through the seventh grade. He was carrying the legacy of Verlyn’s and Nancie’s K-12 experiences. Josh enjoyed school, sports and was first chair trumpet in the band. He was just beginning to play football in the seventh grade – and a little baseball and basketball. At thirteen, Josh had become accustomed to being an entire head taller and much bigger than any of his friends.
One of the biggest stories that Josh, Ben and Matt share from their Holcomb days includes rockets. Josh and Ben were expert model rocket builders and loved shooting them into the sky in the fields of western Kansas – some of their rocket collection still exists today. The downstairs play area was the rocket lab – tables with rocket parts, glue, decals, paint – and rocket engines. One summer day, Josh and Ben decided to light a rocket engine in the basement. As the engine landed on the carpet – it caught the rocket glue on fire. The house stayed intact – but the entire basement carpet had to be replaced. Just one of many stories that include Josh, Ben and Matt – truly a band of close and caring brothers.
Josh carried his Kansas farming years in his heart and hands for the rest of his life. He loved the outdoors, big equipment, growing crops and being around his extended family. Josh liked spending time with his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. On his 13th birthday, as part of a tradition unique to the Linville-Engler brothers, Josh selected Thomas as his middle name – in honor of his Grandpa Tom.
In May 1996, the Linville-Englers moved to Golden, Colorado. Josh and Ben weren’t very keen about leaving their friends and school behind. Matt, being only six, had no qualms about the move. House-hunting was a quick adventure. Nancie and Verlyn and the boys scouted the area in a couple of weekends – and found their new home in Genesee. The offer was made – and then it was a drive from Denver to Kansas City for a KC Chiefs football camp for Josh and Ben. The rest of that summer was a blur of moving and settling in before school began in the fall. Josh began his years as a “Golden Boy” – starting eighth grade at Bell Middle School. By then, Josh was over six feet tall and 200 plus pounds – and had determined that football was going to be his game. One of his biggest challenges was figuring out the world of football in Golden, Colorado. Football in western Kansas was nothing like football in Golden. Most serious football players in Golden had five years of competitive experience by age 13 – so Josh had some catching up to do. Another big change was the size of schools – Josh’s seventh grade class in Holcomb had 40+ kids and Bell Middle School had over 500 students in 7th and 8th grade. Between school work and sports – Josh began to settle into life in Colorado.
Josh was happy to move into Golden High School his freshman year in 1997. Football started becoming a bigger part of his life and along the way he met his best friend Micah Leadford. Both of these guys were quiet around others – but not with each other. Their friendship continued through college. Josh was a really bright guy – he loved history, science and politics – but in high school, much of his time was focused on sports. Josh knew college was part of his future – AP History was one of his favorite courses. He was always pretty proud of his ACT scores for college. High school summers include weight training, football two a days, camping in the mountains, hanging out with friends – and summer jobs. Josh worked in retail – up the mountain at Wal-Mart and Home Depot. He was great with people and life on the farm had instilled a pride and strong ethic around work.
When Josh started his senior year at Golden High School, he took great pride in being selected a Senior Captain and leading his football team. At 6’4” tall, 280+ pounds with shoulders that filled a size 56 suit coat – Josh was truly built for football. While his last season in high school wasn’t as grand as he wanted, he played every game with his full heart and fierceness. One of his fondest memories was the last game when he – the big Offensive Lineman – got to carry the ball.
During the spring, Josh began to think about his college choices. Josh enrolled at the Colorado School of the Mines to pursue college football and begin pursuing his academics with a different intensity. Josh selected Geophysical Engineering as his major and with a minor in Economics. The fact that more young women majored in Geophysics was a fact that Josh remembered from his orientation sessions.
At the Mines, Josh played football through his sophomore year. Because of the time commitment of football – and the need to focus on his classes – Josh ended his football career at the beginning of his Junior year in 2003. While this was a very difficult choice for Josh, he was very proud to make the Academic Honor Roll in fall 2004. Josh completed field camp for Geophysical Engineering and discovered that he liked thinking about geophysics.
Leaving competitive football left a big space in Josh’s life. He quickly turned to golf as his next passion. It took time and practice – and Josh began perfecting his game. Josh spent many hours on Colorado golf courses with his brothers Ben and Matt. Josh leveraged his strength well at golfing – and also brought his own sense of humor and rules to his game. Another interest Josh had developed in his teens and twenties was his sense of style. Finding clothes to fit his frame could be difficult – and Josh wanted to look his best. Ralph Lauren Big & Tall became Josh’s brand of choice and he loved his suit/shirts/ties from the Men’s Wearhouse. Sunglasses, the perfect hat, and watches were key accessories – with Kenneth Cole cologne as Josh’s final touch.
The summer of 2004 was the family’s last big road trip - a celebration for Verlyn’s 50th birthday. A 3500 mile trip cruising on a Goldwing and packed in a Jeep pulling a trailer with golf bags and luggage - many fun times through Yellowstone, Glacier Park, into Canada and back through Deadwood for a little poker.
Josh’s last summer in 2005 included working an internship on a Seismic Engineering crew for Petroleum GeoServices in Oklahoma. The days were long and hot, much like his early days on the farm. Helping a co-worker study for his citizenship test, Josh acquired the nickname El Buffalo . Josh enjoyed getting back to Colorado in late July for a Linville family reunion in Breckenridge. In typical Josh fashion, he drove back early on a Sunday morning from Oklahoma and sneaked into the kitchen to surprise his Mom, Matt and Pops.
Josh’s last days were filled with many of his favorite things – a wedding of close friends from high school, a birthday dinner at home, helping Ben with a move in Boulder, watching a funny movie with his Pops, golfing 18 holes with Matt and heading to the mountains to camp with friends at Guanella Pass. Josh was looking forward to finishing his Senior Year at Colorado School of the Mines.
Joshua Thomas Linville-Engler died in a one-vehicle accident on Guanella Pass on Saturday, August 13, 2005. In May, 2006, he was posthumously awarded his Bachelor’s Degree in Geophysical Engineering from the Colorado School of the Mines. Josh’s family and friends love, remember, and honor him each and every day - remembering Josh’s gentleness, empathy, generosity of spirit, passion for many things in his life, and his smile that connected you directly with his heart.
A great soul serves everyone all the time.
A great soul never dies.
He brings us together again and again.
Maya Angelou
