Joshua D. Rotonda's Obituary
Joshua David Rotonda, age 32, of Grand Haven passed away unexpectedly on Saturday, December 14, 2013. Memorial contributions in memory of Josh maybe given to Pine Rest. (https://pinerest14850.thankyou4caring.org/page.aspx?pid=298)
Joshua David Rotonda was propelled through life with a fuel and an energy that very few have ever known. He climbed from his crib at 3 months old and was walking by his seventh month. He excelled in his youth as a straight A student, played on a traveling soccer team, tore up and down the Grand Haven Ski Bowl flying over snowcapped dunes on skis and performing crazy tricks off of handmade jumps on some of the first snow boards sold in west Michigan. As a member of Spring Lake Yacht Club he achieved multiple National Championships sailing Butterfly and MC “scow” yachts.
Josh became an extraordinary woodworker. He could pick up any tool in the shop and learn how to use it to perfection in minutes. His accomplishments include framing and trimming custom homes, fabricating marble and granite into countertops, and making furniture. He built and sold several extraordinary one of a kind furniture pieces. Raw materials such as big piles of dimensioned lumber for framing houses, slabs of granite and marble, and stacks of rough cut hardwoods destined to be cut and polished, milled and shaped, fit and jointed, oiled and shined to a finish were putty in Joshua’s hands. I have never known anyone with such gifted hands and a quick inquisitive mind.
There were indeed times when he “went away”. He suffered and fought addictive urges from time to time. They led him to places and problems none of us would choose to endure, including loss of freedom to incarceration. While he was held out of society he wrote a novel “Jenna” and became an expert advisor in soil composition, plant growth, and gardening.
Joshua carried in him a giant heart, a strong spiritual core, and a biting sense of humor as anyone who spent time with him would know. If you ever had called him your friend you would know that he had a keen insight into truth, If he ever told you he had your back, that was a thing you could trust and count on with certainty.
Josh’s death leaves a gaping hole in the stomachs and hearts of his friends and family. His brothers John and Joseph, sister Jane Nicole, mother Jackie, father John, and good friend Lana Zarlenga ask that you add your thoughts and support for us on this web page as it would mean so much to us that you cared about and for our brother, son, and friend. We will notify those of you who leave a message here of a memorial that we will have this spring, perhaps at the Spring Lake Yacht Club, to remember Josh, share some stories, and give us all a chance to confirm our care and love for each other.
What’s your fondest memory of Joshua?
What’s a lesson you learned from Joshua?
Share a story where Joshua's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Joshua you’ll never forget.
How did Joshua make you smile?