Joshua Daniel Tolan was a happy kid with a contagious smile who loved to make others smile with him. He acquired the nickname “Slosh” from his cousins because it rhymed with Josh. He was tall, thin and very proud of six-pack abs.

Josh began playing football as early as fourth grade. In eighth grade, he was determined to stay with his friends on the heavyweight team even if he had to put rocks in his pockets to make the weight limit. He went on to become the high school quarterback at Brandon High School and was voted homecoming king before he graduated in 2007.

Josh wasn’t sure what he wanted to be when he first entered college. As a sophomore, he had an opportunity to work with a nurse anesthetist at a local hospital. At that point, he knew he wanted to apply to the nursing program in the fall.

To put himself through college, Josh worked at a restaurant and a construction job in the summer working with his older brother, Matthew. His mother Renelle remembers that he became part of a Bible study group in which he was finding some of the answers he was seeking. On June 8, 2009, 20-year-old Josh was on his way to the Bible study class when he was involved in an auto accident. He never regained consciousness and was declared brain dead on June 9.

“At the hospital, when we were told that Josh was brain dead, we immediately inquired about the option of organ donation,” said Renelle. “We knew that if Josh had been able to make his own decision, he would have chosen the same option. Organ donation was something that we never really discussed as a family until that evening, but is now part of our nature. We have been blessed by receiving letters from two of the organ recipients and it reiterates to us that we made the right decision. It is hard to believe that pieces of Josh continue to live on in others and he continues to brighten others lives even after death.”

Renelle recalled that “During his short time on earth, he touched so many people’s lives and left quite an impression on most. Over the last year, we have heard so many wonderful stories about our son and how he touched others lives and the difference he made in them. Friends immediately opened a group on Facebook and within just a short time after his death, there were over 900 members. Most of the comments were about his smile and how he brightened so many lives with it.”