Filling seven rows of seats on the floor and four sections of home team bleachers, friends and family gathered Saturday to celebrate the life of IU student Joseph Smedley.
At the memorial service, which took place in the gymnasium of Smedley’s alma mater, Lawrence Central High School, the Rev. Anthony Brown’s words of faith and remembrance echoed throughout the gymnasium through overhead speakers.
Preceded by a prayer for strength and clarity, Smedley’s older sister Vivianne Brown shared what an effect her brother made in the lives of those who knew him.
“Joseph was the type of guy who literally just went through life being himself,” Brown said. “He didn’t try to impress anyone or draw any attention, but somehow he still ended up with hundreds of people who absolutely adored him.”
Brown reflected on how Smedley, who had “a weird taste in music” and “funny dance moves,” could light up any room he walked in.
“There’s just a reassuring confidence about Joseph that you could tell about him from the moment you met him,” Brown said. “He was firm in what he stood for and very strong-willed, but he was also kind and gentle. He was the perfect brother.”
Smedley’s smile was projected onto a single white sheet hung in the center of the gymnasium. A life video compiled by close friend Allison Specker showed Smedley hanging out with his friends, posing in his cap and gown after high school graduation and dancing in a curly Afro wig. Attendees chuckled over the soundtrack of the video set to some of Smedley’s favorite songs, like Bill Withers’ “Just the Two of Us.”
As the service continued, family members read poems they had written for Smedley, while childhood friends took turns sharing their favorite memories.
Nancy Bachman, who considered Smedley her “adopted” son, shared Smedley’s reaction when she had found and hung a childhood picture at the top of her staircase along with photos of her own children.
“Joseph started to tear up a little and then said, ‘It’s just like “The Blind Side,”’” Bachman said.
Smedley, close friends from school with Bachman’s children, spent countless hours in the Bachman home, frequently making prank calls and mac and cheese. Bachman’s husband taught Smedley how to drive.
“Yes, Joe was funny,” Bachman said. “But more importantly, he was kind, and he was loving and he was sensitive to the opinions of others. He judged people by their character and not their social standing.”
Smedley, who was studying biochemistry at IU, had an interest in pharmacy. Brown said Smedley had hoped to work at Eli Lilly, pointing and saying, “It’s the motherland,” every time the two drove by the pharmaceutical company in Indianapolis.
Devonne Bradshaw, Brown’s mother-in-law, said Smedley was “a freaking genius.”
“He always seemed to know about everything,” Bradshaw said. “He always had the answer for everything and was always on top of everything.”
Mike Barsella, a brother in Smedley’s Sigma Pi pledge class, said Smedley was “a hero and a leader.”
“We will never forget how great a student you were, how great of a person you were and how great of friend you were to every person you met,” Barsella said.
As the memorial drew to a close, the Rev. Brown prayed for continued strength for Smedley’s family.
“I am heartbroken that I didn’t get to spend as much time as I wanted with him,” sister Gizelle Smedley said. “He was truly an amazing son, big brother and friend.”
