Joseph J. Szilvasi

1954-2007

On January 13, 2007 Joseph Szilvasi's journey through this life came to a tragic end. Joe was a son, a brother, a father, a grandfather, a friend, a soccer coach, a volunteer, a college graduate, a graduate student, a mental health counselor and an advocate. Joe's life will not soon be erased in our minds.

A memorial was held for Joe in Hinton, WV on February 17. In lieu of flowers the family suggests that donations be made to Mountain State Centers for Independent Living.

Joe had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed helping and talking to others. He was excited about moving to Huntington and was eagerly looking toward the future. Although Joe had a Master's Degree in Psychology, his quest for knowledge lived on. In August of 2006, Joe moved from Hinton to Huntington, WV where he enrolled at Marshall University, working toward a degree in History.

Joe gave tirelessly of his time to promote disability awareness by serving or being a member of numerous boards and councils across the state. Most recently he participated in the:

WV Statewide Independent Living Council
WV Division of Rehabilitation Services Consumer Advisory Council
MTSTCIL's Advocacy Builds Leadership and Education Center Advisory Council
Fair Shake Network

In memory of Joe, we encourage everyone to make a commitment to stay safe and learn to protect yourself, family members, neighbors, emergency workers, firefighters and our community by learning more about fire safety. On this Web site we have online skills classes and resources on fire safety, personal safety and home safety.

And to continue this mission in memory of Joe, we have established a partnership with the West Virginia State Fire Marshal’s Office, which has committed to fire safety trainings of CIL staff and other service providers in order to reach out into our communities and educate so that we never again have to lose a friend, neighbor or loved one to a fire.

Joe will be sorely missed by all who knew him. Joe lives on within us as friends share stories and memories of "our friend and fellow advocate". We have established a memory page and ask that all who knew him contribute.

Visit the Joseph J. Szilvasi - Memories page

If you would like to share a memory or story about Joe, please email Brenda Goodfellow at Mountain State Centers for Independent Living.