Devon Francis Joseph

Devon Francis Joseph passed away on October 12, 2020. He was born in Drexel Hill, Pennsylvania to Jennifer (née Gross) and Donald Joseph on January 22, 2015. At the tender age of two, Devon developed a keen interest in dinosaurs and soon earned the moniker “Dino Devon”. Most of his outfits contained images of all kinds of dinosaurs and Devon knew all their names. In addition to dinosaurs, Devon loved all the sea creatures he saw at the Adventure Aquarium in Camden, NJ and just about every animal at the Philadelphia Zoo. Although he loved the sharks, Devon was always petrified when he walked the shark bridge at the Adventure Aquarium. While he loved every animal at the zoo, he was particularly interested in the tortoises, bats, and reptiles. In addition to his passion for animals, Devon found time to do typical kid stuff. He enjoyed Paw Patrol and his most cherished toy was the “Paw Patrol Lookout Tower” that his Aunty Martine gave him for Christmas. Pretty soon, he convinced his loving parents to get the rest of the Paw Patrol toys for him, including all the pups, the air patroller, and the playset. Although Devon was generally flexible when playing with the Paw Patrol toys with his friends, Rebel and Rocky were almost always off limits as those two pups were truly his favorites.

As most young boys, Devon was fairly active and often kept his parents on the edge by the types of activities he engaged in. In particular, he enjoyed running around in open spaces and loved to jump on and off things, which led to the loss of his first tooth. Although this fearless attitude did not immediately lead to unreserved acceptance of swimming and piano lessons, Devon soon developed a keen interest in both activities. The emergence of COVID-19 forced him to practice what he learned in swimming classes during his nightly baths at home. In particular, he enjoyed putting his swimming goggles on and blowing bubbles while pretending to look for sea creatures. In spite of COVID-19 restrictions on in-person learning, Devon made great strides toward becoming a pianist under the guidance of Ms. May Ye via Skype. In fact, one of the most impressionable moments in the memories of Devon came when he played perfectly all six songs he learned under the tutelage of Ms. May and said to dada, “Sorry I don’t have any more songs, but I will learn more from Ms. May and play them for you later.” The virtual piano lessons prepared Devon for Kindergarten at Samuel Powel school where he excelled in the brief time he attended school via Zoom. Like anyone who has ever participated in a Zoom meeting, Devon was not fond of being muted because he always wanted to answer all the questions in class. While Devon’s life with us was incredibly short, we are grateful for the long-lasting memories he left us with. His creativity, interest in paleontology, love for science, intelligence, and commitment to excellence were quite remarkable for a five-year-old.

Devon was the cherished maternal grandson of Meredith (née McClure) and Joseph Gross and paternal grandson of Ermine Princivil and Dide Joseph. Adorable nephew of Brian (Kelly) Gross, Mark Gross, Mario (Paula) Darius, Linda, Martine, Sorina (Yvon) Toussaint, Natacha (Jean-Edouard) Pierre-Louis, and Kerline (Pierre) Guerrier. Devon will be missed by his cousins Heidi, Henry, Ava, Steffen, Kaleb, Risael, Prince, Noah, Debora, and Methushael.

Relatives and friends are invited to his Viewing in Church Thursday evening 6:00-8:00 PM and Friday morning 9:30-10:30 A.M. followed by his Funeral Mass Friday 11:00 A.M. at St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church, 4625 Springfield Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19143. Interment to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery, 626 Baily Rd, Yeadon, PA 19050. The funeral service will be live-streamed on the Logan Funeral Homes website (https://www.LoganFuneralHomes.com).

The family wishes memorial contributions be made to either the Devon Joseph Memorial Fund GoFundMe page gf.me/u/y5kt2q the National Alliance on Mental Illness https://www.nami.org, or Child Help (https://www.childhelp.org/).

THE FUNERAL MASS WILL BE LIVESTREAMED BEGINNING AT 10:40 A.M. ON FRIDAY, OCTOBER 23, 2020.  PLEASE CLICK ONTO THE LINK BELOW.  (SEE FUNERAL MASS DETAILS BELOW AND "CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE VIDEO")

Due to the current Pandemic please practice social distancing and wearing of a mask during the service.