The National Addiction Memorial honors the loved ones we’ve lost.

My husband Frank died at 37 of a cocaine overdose. He left behind a 12 year old boy and my 2 year old daughter. He was a retired NYPD officer and a navy veteran. He was smart, funny and good hearted. His addiction had a grip on his soul. He struggled with it many years on and off. I got the call that he was running around the pool in his apartment building holding the "Living Sober" book in his hand. The Doctor said that there was nothing they could do, that cocaine has to run it's course. He had a massive heart attack that left him brain dead and his organs shut down, he died 5 days later. I'm telling this story for the addict who still suffers. Thank you for letting me share Frank's story.

Such a Great Smile that we Love and Miss everyday......

Lauren was my firstborn daughter. She was the best baby any parent could wish for, such a smart child too! She excelled in everything she did, was full of confidence and life with a smile & personality to match. She was on the honor roll and on the academic team, always a straight A student. She was active in the youth group at our church and was in band and choir. Lauren was in an auto accident when she was 17 that resulted in a man losing his life. Although this accident was not her fault, she blamed herself and never got over it. We sent her to counseling, more than once. It didn't seem to help. Lauren leaves behind a sister, Kaitlyn, born on her sixth birthday, a step sister Tosha, her dad Tim, step dad Bob, grandmothers Nancy & Sue, and many friends and extended relatives. Lauren first became addicted to pills in high school and went to a 30 day rehab. I think it helped her but she relapsed soon after getting out. Her drug problem led to her being incarcerated for a probation violation. She went to a rehab while there for 5 of those months and worked at this rehab the last 2. She also went to 2 long term faith based rehabs (18 months each). I am so thankful for them, as they brought her closer to God than she ever was before. Lauren passed away on Christmas day at my mom's house from an accidental poisoning of fentanyl, at the age of 31. I still hear from her friends who were in rehab with her because they tell me Lauren helped them. She had a servant heart and wanted to help or save everyone. She never met a stranger. She had the biggest laugh, smile and personality. She is loved and missed every day.

Joel was born in England but we moved to California in 1995. As a child he was bright, gregarious, funny, and loved to learn and create. He was very close to his younger brother, Kai and they played Lego’s, playmobile, rode bikes and got up to all sorts of adventures together. At the age of 13, their father passed away and everything changed. Joel became more introverted and would spend hours in his room, creating raps and playing video games. By the age of 17 we realized that he was having serious problems. Over the next few years we tried everything to help him including several rehabs. Sadly, nothing seemed to work and each time he would return to his drug of choice, Heroin. On Jan 31, Joel and his girlfriend Xea were found dead in an Airbnb of a suspected overdose. Their struggle was over!

My son Adam was a longboarder, artist, musician whose smile lit up our world. Sweet heart, loving and kind. His addiction stole all of those things and ultimately took his life. His smile and joking, loving ways diminished as his addiction progressed. The day we lost our sweet Adam changed our lives. His story has impacted others and has been shared to groups of young people in our area. Time will not heal the hole in our hearts left by our beautiful Adam, but we are making sure that he is honored in all we do. His life and death is making a difference in addicts' lives.

Zane had such a big heart and always said his passion was to help people. He had such a beautiful smile and a sweet, scratchy voice that would melt your heart. He loved kids, but never had the chance to have his own, something he so dearly wanted in life. Zane loved the outdoors, hunting fishing, taking care of animals, he absolutely loved dogs and cats and livestock. Zane was a hard worker and took his job seriously until addiction got in the way. Less than two months after Zane lost his job, he lost his battle with addiction, fentanyl being the final blow. There was so much left for this loving 23 year old young man to do, but drugs took him far too soon. He will be forever loved and missed.

Joshua Eddie Plumley was 37 years old when he passed away. He left behind his 2 daughters and 2 sons. He was a loving and funny man who had a great sense of humor. He was a wonderful father and Son and he worked hard to provide for his family. He is missed very much everyday and still loved for who he was and what he stood for. He will be missed by me the rest of my life. He had a heart bigger than he was and he never met a stranger❤ I miss him more than words could ever explain.

Loving son and father forever to 36

Our son, Kevin, struggled with addiction to heroin for 11 years. Although he had periods of sobriety, he underestimated the power of his disease. He had a bright future ahead prior to his addiction. He graduated from college and had dreams of marriage, children and a promising career. He died alone in a motel room on 12/02/16 in Boynton Beach, FL. Our lives have never been the same. There is a hole left in our hearts that can only be filled by our son, Kevin.

Christopher was a straight A student and played baseball for South Shore Babe Ruth and Our Lady Star of the Sea. They called him, “Hurricane Chris”. He was a smart, happy, loving child who gave the best hugs ever.
My nephew got into a minor car accident at 18 years old. A doctor prescribed him opiates for pain. He became addicted to the opiates in two weeks. After struggling with his addiction in and out of Rehabs and many detox he died of an overdose at 22 years old. A week before he died he told his mother that it was like there was a demon inside him and that he didn’t want to live like this anymore. He said that he told God to please take him.
His mother, my sister and my parents, his grandparents, tried so hard to get him into a program to help him. There was red tape and people who just didn’t care who turned him away. The stigma was hanging over our heads. After his passing we opened, ”Christopher’s Reason" in his memory. An outpatient drug facility that would never turn anyone away. A safe place full of hugs and no judgement.
Christopher, gone too soon, but always in our hearts.

My little brother Mikey was a kind hearted soul. He was an amazing Uncle to my children and a pain in the butt brother to my sister Katie and I. He was the only son to my Mother and Father. We were so blessed to have Mikey in our lives for the 29 years we did. He was much more than his addiction. Mikey had just came out of rehab and got his 5 month chip a few days before he was called to heaven. Unfortunately for my brother and my family, Fentanyl took him. We miss him very much and his Legacy will be more than his addiction. Rest Easy Brother, we love you always.
❤️🖤❤️🖤

My brother had a sad life growing up. He ended up in a reform school, foster home and later jail. He suffered from severe back pain and was on prescribed drugs. He later decided to use heroin and ended up overdosing. He left behind two daughters and a son along with me and another brother.

My son, Jason, was loved by everyone who knew him. He had the best laugh, a great personality and a huge heart for helping others. He just couldn’t love himself enough to overcome his addiction. After struggling with this disease for most of his adult life, “one last time” took his life.
He is loved and missed beyond measure.

Jesse was my little brother, and though we grew apart in our adulthood, he was always someone special in my heart. I have so many memories full of laughter with him, and I wish I could have known him better. I wish that addiction had not taken him away.

Michael struggled for 15 years and sought out recovery often. For the last 10 years, he was in an almost yearly cycle of relapse and recovery. He tried medication assisted services but at various times, meds were weaned off. His last recovery period was just shy of 16 months. He received a monthly Vivitrol injection for 14 months. He was very active in NA and had a wonderfully supportive group of friends. He was fully employed, lived in a cute house which he loved, paid his bills and had money in the bank. He was so hopeful for his long term recovery and so were we. What happened that Friday night, we'll never fully understand. His sponsor would have been there if Michael would have only reached out. Michael relapsed alone with his drug of choice, heroin. Sadly, it was heavily laced with fentanyl. He once told me that when he relapsed he KNEW to cut way back..... and I screamed at him that it wouldn't matter if it was cut with fentanyl. We're now left to live with this horrific loss. We should be navigating through a relapse, not his death.

You know that one friend everyone has that you always have to warn newcomers about? You know, the one you have to tell to be nice, can’t ever put them on speaker phone, but yet the biggest heart and the warmest smile? Who comes to my mind is my best friend, Dustin Stockowitz, and he was taken from us way too soon on July 21st, 2019.
Dustin struggled with addiction for many years. Dating back before we met, he learned to cope with his insecurities in unfortunate ways. Introduced to marijuana first, he quickly escalated to much harder substances. Not long before we met, his doting mother stuck by his side to hold him up through rounds of rehab. Dustin was able to be clean for long periods of time, just unable to ultimately stay sober. There always seemed to be some life event that would push him backwards into using again.
A little background on my relationship with Dustin; We met when I was 19, he 18. Dustin was a friend of my, at the time, boyfriend. Dustin began coming over to our home on a regular basis, and he and I became good friends. At 23, I found myself pregnant. Dustin stepped up to the plate where he didn’t have to. In 2014, Dustin’s miniature version of himself was born. Then, 2017 brought his youngest son, and class clown. Dustin was truly one hell of a father.
Our relationship had its bumps, yet despite it all, he and I both knew we were loved. Ultimately he knew he could call me no matter what, no matter when, and no matter where, I’d be there. In my heart, I know without a doubt, he would have done the same for me.
Fast forwarding to July 20th, 2019. We were broke, homeless, my mom had our kids, and both of us lost souls only trying to make it to the next day. It was that night, in our grungy, tiny, disgusting 9-day-old-dirty diaper smelling hotel room that we decided we were done. Together, we decided to get clean, to be parents, and to love ourselves as everyone else loved us.
The next morning, I found my best friend purple. He was dead. I frantically called 911 while trying to administer narcan, praying with everything in myself he would pull through. I called his mom with the intent of pissing him off, because at that moment, I just needed his voice. The rest is all a blur. Police, Fireman, EMT’s, voices, pushing, screaming, crying… and the shrill sound of his mother’s ear shattering scream as the EMT told her that her son was dead.
Assisting in the planning of the love of my life’s funeral at 30 years old is not something I ever imagined doing. I remember telling his mom multiple times throughout the planning “We shouldn’t be doing this”. Seven months after the services, and I still couldn’t tell anybody the events of the days surrounding his death. All I know for sure is that I never knew such pain was capable. Grief is not something that just goes away. It is forever engraved. Time does not heal grief. Time only teaches you how to live with grief.
Not a day goes by that I don’t think of Dustin. Not a day goes by that I don’t wish he was here. Maybe it’s the way our daughter howled as I took her up to see his urn. Or maybe it’s because our 2 year old son does not stop crying until I come back into the room, for fear of never seeing me again. It could even be the way he smiled at me as I picked him up from work. Any reason provided, I will forever miss his beautiful soul.

In Loving Memory
Dustin John Stockowitz
6/15/89*7/21/19

Tyler was an only child. Always a great kid, his friends' parents when he was younger would always compliment me on how well behaved he was and quiet, until he got to know you, then he was always funny, caring about others, and had a very big heart.
I feel like I was the lucky one to be Tyler’s mom
He made me in to the person I am today
Tyler was my everything
My love my heartbeat the sun on a rainy day
He was my common sense, he gave me patience, he always reminded me of kindness
I miss him so much Everyday, the pain in my heart and soul is like the day God took you from me
I love you son, I was the lucky one to be your mom
I love you happy Angel Valentine
❤️ Mom

Bree struggled with addiction for many years. She started with pot and it progressed from there. I miss her so much and my heart is broken.

Beautiful smile, big blue eyes like her Dad. Loved the beach and her dog Jamee. Missed and loved so very much ♥️