In Memoriam
Joshua Michael George O’Brien Pettigrew
January 5, 1981 – October 16, 2022
Joshua Michael George O’Brien Pettigrew passed away October 16, 2022 @5:52 AM in the arms of his loving mother, Laura Pettigrew at University of Alberta Hospital, Edmonton Alberta, Canada. He was only 41 years old. His family is deeply saddened by his sudden, tragic, unnecessary, needless death. Joshua was born premature at 28 weeks January 5, 1981 @ 11:01 PM in Regina General Hospital weighing 2.5 lbs, spending the first 54 days of his life in the Neo-Natal Intensive Care Unit at Regina General Hospital, Regina, Saskatchewan Canada.
Joshua is survived by his mother, Laura Pettigrew; younger brother Luke Pettigrew; grandmother Lillian Pettigrew; great aunts Roberta Freethy, and Gail and Darlene Hoskins; uncles Rodney, Ron, and Roger Pettigrew; aunts Kim, Brenda, and Deanne Pettigrew, Roseanne Novak, and Janice Palmer; and numerous 1st, 2nd and 3rd cousins.
Joshua was predeceased by his loving grandfather, George Pettigrew (the only father
figure in Joshua and Luke’s life); great grandfather O’Brien Hoskins; great grandmothers Sadie (Sarah) Hoskins and Marguerite Raven; great aunt Phyllis Joorisity; and great
uncles Lou Joorisity, Bill and Les Hoskins, and Harmon Freethy.
Joshua grew up in Regina, Saskatchewan and attended Massey elementary and Campbell high school in French Immersion.
Joshua loved animals; he was drawn to them and them to him. He rescued and had cats which he loved immensely! His cats Missy and Gizmo are on a long walk with him now.
Joshua was a fun, spirited, beautiful soul who took on many passions which included
photography, drawing, musician, singing, (trombone, piano) acting (film) and a published poet. He had incredible artistic talent and culinary skills! He found comfort and peace in capturing raw nature and using it to express himself.
One of his favourite places since he was a young child was the cottage of his
grandparents at South Lake spending weekends and weeks in the summer with his loving mother, brother, grandparents, great grandmother (Sadie), cousins, aunts, uncles,
swimming (taught by his grandmother) skiing, fishing, hiking, exploring nature and in the city biking, skateboarding, rollerblading and in a baseball league. His love of water
includes the ocean, spending time swimming in the Pacific Ocean on vacation in Hawaii and Vancouver Island. Of course his love of golf instilled in, taught by his grandmother
started at age 9 and he was “hooked”. In the winter Joshua loved playing shinny, skating, skiing (taught by his grandfather) which led to snowboarding!
In a word, Joshua was a principled man always in search of the truth. In addition, his
curiosity, inquisitiveness, and keen intellect drove all his pursuits. He wanted to
understand the intricacies of everything and undertook in-depth research so whatever he did, he was all in! He was never scared to take on new opportunities and did
everything with honesty and integrity. He had very strong values and was loved by
everyone, due to his kindness, positive energy, incredible patience, and the fact that he always made time to help others!
Joshua spoke French as a second language. He tutored his younger brother and children of friends in addition to every position he was employed able to converse with clients. Furthermore after having Tatiana Moura, an international student from Brazil, staying with Joshua and his mother, he was adept at learning Portuguese, as knowing French, both languages influenced by Latin, use the same sentence structure, and even share common words, similar verbs and terms.
Joshua was a beautiful person inside and out. His stunning smile, warm infectious
laughter, sense of humour would light up the whole room! And his sparkling blue eyes, when he looked you in the eye he was speaking directly to your soul. He cared so deeply for the people around him. He was kind, loving, caring, understanding, generous,
gracious, compassionate and passionate. And those who knew Joshua knew he loved them!
Joshua was a strong fighter, fighting for life at birth and fought to live following his
diagnosis of Liver disease. But now he is flying in his dreams an actual feat he
accomplished while living, “flying an airplane”. He is now on a journey to lands we cannot see. He is free from pain floating peacefully with his cats, Missy and Gizmo over golden prairie fields, mountains, valleys and clear waters of South Lake and the Pacific Ocean singing with his loving grandfather, George Pettigrew! Just keep smiling and singing!…”It’s a Wonderful World”…Live, Laugh and Love
Joshua made an impact on many lives! His legacy will carry on forever reminding us that we choose to live a life of meaningful acts of love, kindness and service. He will be Forever Missed and the lives he touched…….“Forever Changed”…….
A Memorial Golf Tournament and Celebration of Life will be held Sunday, September 3, 2023 at Aspen Links, 310 Emerald Park Rd, Emerald Park, SK. We invite all who knew, loved Joshua to partake in the Tournament starting at 10:00 AM by contacting Aspen Links, 306-791-7467. Following which participants, friends and family welcome to
attend Joshua’s Celebration of Life from 3:00 PM to 8:00 p.m. at Aspen Links
Leave a Condolence