Remembering Joshua Hartwig, killed in drive by shooting

Posted By: Nicole Cousins

ncousins@klkntv.com

Like most Nebraskans, Joshua Hartwig was the ultimate husker fan.

He spent his days talking about and supporting the Blackshirts with his brother–in–law Ben.

I never met a bigger husker fan than me until I met Josh,” his brother-in-law Ben Marshall said. “I had the privilege of hanging out with him for two years and most of that time was spent at the baseball diamond or watching the football team.”

Joshua fell victim to a drive–by shooting in front of his Lincoln apartment last weekend.

He was just 25 years old.

“Always had a smile and treated you like he’d known you forever that’s just how he was,” friend Ryan Stephens said. “You know talking about Nebraska sports those are the ones I’m gonna remember.

“He was a really good friend, we’re gonna miss him,” friend Cody Durham said.

Joshua also played football and basketball with the Special Olympics.

At his memorial celebration today,hundreds of people came dressed in red to cheer on Joshua one last time.

“We didn’t want it to be a funeral we wanted it to celebrate Josh’s life and reflect josh and the only way to do that was to have a husker sendoff,” Josh’s mom Kris Branker said. “And I don’t think anything would have been more appropriate.”

The only other team Joshua was loyal to was the Denver Broncos.

His mom says they were planning to cheer the Broncos to a hopeful Super Bowl victory over the Carolina Panthers this Sunday.

“One of the things that’s really hard is his friends all asked me to do a super bowl party this weekend,” Kris said. “And we’re going to but it just wont be the same.”

Joshua’s family has set up a burial fund at *Liberty First Credit Union, as well as a gofundme account in his name.

Any extra money raised that exceeds funeral costs will go towards his Special Olympics team to cover travel expenses.

If you are interested in donating, click here