Obituary of Joshua Ryan Fonner

Born in Manchester, NH Lived in Melbourne, FL with his adoring partner and the love of his life, Mab Ryan. He is also survived by his adoring mother, Robin Bursey, and his loving father, B. Wray Fonner Jr., his brothers with whom he had a very close relationship, Benjamin Fonner, and Samuel Fonner, his sister-in-law Katie Fonner and his greatly loved niece Lara and nephew Julian, his loving grandfather Arthur Bursey, and a number of family and loved ones. After experiencing symptoms of pneumonia, his heart gave out on the ambulance as he was rushed to Holmes. Josh's greatest passion in life was to bring people joy through entertainment. He was a fan of radio since childhood, and a podcaster for the past ten years. He loved movies, musicals, plays, radio dramas, and comic books, and dabbled in projects relating to each one. In his final days he was regularly putting out a weekly podcast on his show Untitled Nonsense. He also wrote movie reviews for PARC magazine. When asked what religious denomination he was, Josh would describe himself as "Christian Goth." In his own words, being Goth means "seeing beauty in things most see as dark and morbid." He believed this was appropriate because the Bible said we needed to die to ourselves daily and live for Jesus. He also appreciated the quote often attributed to St Francis of Assisi: "Preach the gospel always and if necessary, use words." Josh believed in spreading the love of the gospel through actions. Josh's favorite scripture was James 4:17: "If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn't do it, it is sin for them." This was Josh's guiding principle in life. If he had it within his power to help someone, he simply did it, because it's the right thing to do. Since his passing, many friends have come forward to tell stories of how Josh supported them, whether in tangible ways, or simply emotionally. He wasn't afraid to be emotionally vulnerable, and people knew they could trust him with their feelings. Even folks who never met Josh may recognize him as the face of two popular internet memes: "Fat Emo" and "We Eat the Batman." Though someone created these to make fun of him, Josh couldn't be so easily brought down. He turned the spotlight into an opportunity to build his brand and form relationships with people from around the globe. Josh struggled with mental illness his whole life, particularly with Bipolar I. He was never ashamed, always recognizing it as a legitimate illness. He often spoke openly about his struggles, making himself a beacon for others who experienced similar disorders. He openly spoke up for the rights of marginalized people, whether the issue was about mental illness, race, or gender. Details of the Service: Saturday, January 14, 2017 at 1:00pm Lifepoint Church 1420 Sportsman Lane NE Palm Bay, FL 32905 In lieu of flowers, we are still accepting donations to the Go Fund Me for his memorial service. All extra funds will go to support mental health research, outreach, and awareness. At this time we are still researching charities.