Josiah Cox

A former Dunkirk school student has died after a motorcycle accident in Milwaukee last week. According to the Heritage Funeral Home, which is based in Wisconsin, Josiah Reagan Cox, 20, passed away on Thursday after the incident.

Cox and his family moved to Western New York after living through Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana. He grew up in what he considered his “favorite blue house” in Dunkirk and attended the Campus and Community Children’s Center, the SUNY Fredonia Youngerman Center, Dunkirk School 5, Dunkirk Middle School and Dunkirk High School.

Upon hearing of Cox’s death, the obituary said, residents in Dunkirk and Fredonia “have reminisced about the joy that Josiah brought into their lives by his presence and free spirit, from his participation in the Campus and Community Children’s Center, to Northern Chautauqua Youth Soccer Association, to the Family Martial Arts Center. Many families in Dunkirk and Fredonia are mourning his loss.”

He moved with family to West Allis, Wis., during the pandemic in 2020 and attended Wisconsin Lutheran High School before graduating from West Allis Central in 2022. He was a sophomore at UW-Milwaukee, studying to be a nurse anesthetist, and served in the Wisconsin Army National Guard. As part of his military service, he was scheduled for deployment to the Middle East in May 2025.

He played piano, flute, and steel drums. A flurry of motion and a superb athlete, he excelled in soccer and track (hurdles & high jump), swam at a championship level, played baseball, and attained a second-degree black belt in karate.

He is survived by his parents, Jonathan and Tedi Cox, and brother Sebastian Cox, grandparents, aunts and uncles and numerous cousins.

“Josiah will be remembered for his ability to make friends wherever he went. He would light up a room and bring smiles to those around him,” the obituary said. “In his 20 years on earth, he touched thousands of lives with his friendly, kind, loving, and generous spirit. He made everyone around him feel at ease, loved, included, accepted, and cherished, which led to many lifetime friendships. Friends remember his sincerity, genuine heart, mischievous spirit, twinkling eyes, beautiful smile, and quick wit. With irresistible charm, Josiah was the life of any gathering, which he immediately transformed into a party.”

The family plans to establish a scholarship fund in Josiah’s memory at the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation. Donations may be made in his name to NCCF for the scholarship fund or to the Lutheran Military Support Group.

A Go Fund Me page set up by the family had collected more than $13,600 for the $20,000 of funeral expenses. The father posted this note on Monday: “We are deeply grateful for your astounding outpouring of support. In the past three days, it has begun to dawn on us how many people Josiah has touched and positively impacted in ways we hadn’t appreciated. In his 20 years, he was involved in so many places and accomplished so much. Everywhere he went, he brightened lives with his friendship and made impressions that have never been forgotten. It was such a blessing to have him among us, and the blessing continues as we learn different perspectives on his influence from the many comments on Facebook and elsewhere.”

That page can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-josiah-coxs-funeral-expenses