Friends and family remember Joseph Smedley II as a genuine, goofy friend and a kind soul.
Smedley’s body was found Friday evening after he had been reported missing Sept. 28.
At IU, he was a brother of the Sigma Pi fraternity, and he was studying biochemistry. He graduated from Lawrence Central High School in Indianapolis where he wrestled for the school team.
“Joseph was simultaneously a great ‘little brother’ to his older sister and older brother, great ‘big brother’ to his young sister who looks up to him and adores him. We will always love and miss him,” family spokesperson LaMar Holliday said on behalf of Smedley’s father, Joseph Smedley I, in a statement.
Junior Elle Krauter, who is studying abroad in Vienna, Austria, said hearing the news was a numbing experience.
“He was strong and driven, and wasn’t the type to back down from a challenge,” Krauter said via text message. “All in all, he was the best kind of friend that anyone could ever ask to have and will be sorely missed.”
Krauter first got to know Smedley in high school. She said she could talk to him about everything and he brought out the best in everyone.
“I’d ask him for advice,” Krauter said. “We’d laugh about stupid puns that we both loved to make, just everything. He was truly my best guy friend.”
She said her favorite thing to do with Smedley was meeting for breakfast. The two would share hash browns in Wright Food Court and talk for hours.
Friends remember Smedley for his great sense of humor.
“We could say one joke and keep laughing and adding on to the same joke for like 10 minutes straight,” Krauter said. “I don’t think there was ever a time I was with Joe where I didn’t laugh.”
“There were some times when we were goofing around, and I almost couldn’t tell if he was serious or not because he was so good at holding it together,” Krauter said. “Eventually he would break, and we’d all have a laugh.”
Junior Johnny Specker, a friend since middle school, said that even in the most serious situations, Smedley found ways to make people smile.
Specker recalled a time when Smedley and a friend prank called The Jerry Springer Show. They were offered travel accommodations and a hotel stay to come out to the filming.
“So many people were there for him,” Specker said. “No matter what he went through, he stayed confident and wanted to be someone who everyone would be proud of.”
Coleman LaBarr, Smedley’s freshman year roommate, said the two shared a similar taste in music. LaBarr said the last time the two talked was when he called Smedley from the concert of one of their favorite bands, BadBadNotGood.
“He just cared about everyone more than he cared about himself,” LaBarr said. “He always put everyone in front of him. He was a gentleman.”
In addition to loving music, Smedley loved to cook, was very studious and had a strong interest in social issues like affirmative action.
“He did everything right,” junior Layla Ramirez said. “There was not one part of his life that he neglected and everything that he had going on for him was because he worked for it, and it was never given to him. He studied so much because he loved it. He really genuinely wanted to learn.”
Ramirez said she knew Smedley in high school, but became close in college.
“He was so wonderful to me and to everyone around him,” Ramirez said. “He just had so much to offer, as a person and as a student.”
The Smedley family has created a GoFundMe page to help cover funeral arrangements. Donations can be made at www.gofundme.com/9g5jkxms.
