Westridge in Ballwin Remembers Josh Hookland

When Vicki Hookland visits the burial place of her son, Josh, who died of leukemia in 2002, she leaves a McDonald’s Happy Meal on his birthday near his headstone—a favorite treat her young son used to request. 

The gesture is small, but to a parent of one of the millions of people who die each year from some form of cancer, it’s an expression of love and remembrance.

On Thursday, students at  in Ballwin, where Josh Hookland attended until he died at age 10, former students and teachers recalled their own memories of Josh 10 years after his death.

At a picnic for fifth-graders on the last day of the school year, teachers and students squared off in a friendly staff-versus-students soccer game, played on “Josh Hookland Field” to commemorate a special student who had a love for the game.

“You just keep the awareness out there and that’s so important, because these kids are going to grow up,” said Vicki Hookland, 61, who resides in Ellisville with her husband, Kurt. “They’re not only children. When they’re adults, they’re going to become part of the community and right now, you’re laying the foundation for that.”

Josh’s sister, Michelle Hookland, 39, works as a paramedic and firefighter, and frequently cared for Josh when his cancer was in advanced stages. Michelle said her younger brother had an attitude that helped him deal with being sick and with challenges at school, where he sometimes received extra attention through special education courses.

“To me he was just a really big fighter … He worked hard,” Michelle said. “That and he always smiled. He’d get sick and he’d bounce right back.”

Josh's former teacher, Mary Clausen-Thomas, saw many of Josh's struggles first-hand.

In part because of missing class due to treatment—and because of the physiological effects of chemotherapy—Josh had difficulty learning to read.

"And he wanted to be able to read books and share what he read with his mother," said Thomas, who provided tutoring at the Hoagland’s home, where she said Josh's sickness led to vomiting, discomfort and other distractions that made instruction difficult.

"And I would ask myself, 'should I be doing this or not?' or 'How hard should I push him?', but he would push himself," Thomas said.

Thomas, who had a son die shortly after his birth, said Josh's determination to succeed against odds eventually led to something she called the "Joshua standard."

If I felt too tired to get up or get going, I'd think, 'If Josh got up and got going this morning, what's wrong with me?'" Thomas said. "There came a point where I was no longer Josh's teacher, Josh was my teacher.