A young Cowichan farmer, whose story has inspired others in the community to get vaccinated, has died after a brief but devastating battle against COVID’s Delta variant.
Josh Mellor died Monday leaving behind his wife Miranda, two daughters (an infant and a toddler), his family, and a host of friends and neighbours in the community who were doing everything they could to support the man who spent his life doing everything he could to support them.
“Josh will be greatly missed by many. He held his many friendships very close to his heart. He was very shocked at the outpouring of community support for him and his family, and wanted to thank everyone for their involvement,” said the obituary provided by his sister Sara Phillips.
Born and raised to a pioneer farming family in Cowichan, Mellor went to Cowichan Secondary School where he won the B.C. AutoSkills Championship and a full scholarship to BCIT upon his high school graduation in 2001. The Cowichan farmer attended Vancouver Island University for his last couple of years, graduating as a red seal heavy duty mechanic in 2007.
After school, Mellor spent a year travelling around Australia working on farms before returning home to start Mellor Mobile Mechanical, working on equipment, both locally and in the Yukon.
“Josh’s passion was farming and everything related,” said the obituary. “His summers were spent making hay and fixing equipment.”
But family is where Mellor’s heart was.
“Josh really loved being a dad to his girls, and a husband to Miranda, these girls were his world,” said the obituary. “Josh met Miranda, his future wife in 2011, and was immediately smitten. They were married on the family farm June 7, 2014. Like in their wedding song lyrics ‘I’ll do anything with you anywhere’, they were always up for an adventure together.”
Their first daughter, Georgia, was born Sept. 29, 2019 then on June 9, 2021 they welcomed their second beautiful daughter, Mila.
Not three months following the birth of his daughter, Mellor, 39 wasn’t feeling well. He tested positive for COVID-19 on Sept. 2 after a runny nose devolved into severe coughs and body aches.
An asthmatic, Mellor was assessed at Cowichan District Hospital on Sept. 7 but was sent home with an inhaler and additional monitoring. The following day with his condition deteriorating, he returned to CDH via ambulance but later transferred to Victoria’s Royal Jubilee Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit.
Mellor texted Miranda on Sept. 19, saying that he loved her and was about to be intubated and put on a ventilator.
The well-wishes and support for he and his family grew online on the Josh’s Fan Club Facebook page, where numbers grew to 2.6k followers, and in person, with financial and meal support, prayers and more being offered to the Mellor family.
The page also encouraged others to consider vaccination. While Miranda had two doses of the vaccine, Josh was not vaccinated and was on the fence about getting it. Since then Mellor’s battle has prompted many within the community to get the Jab for Josh.
Late Sunday night, into the early morning hours of Monday morning, Mellor’s family was called to the hospital.
He didn’t make it.
“We were so blessed to have the most wonderful, caring, compassionate staff in the ICU and would like to thank each and every one of them for their valiant efforts to save Josh,” said the obituary.
Those still wishing to support the Mellor family during this time can donate right to the family via a direct deposit account for etransfers at: smellor@shaw.ca. Just be sure to put “Josh” in the comment/memo section or through the “Josh’s Fan Club” on GoFundMe via this link: https://gofund.me/2d78ed24
A private family service and Celebration of Life will come once the pandemic is under control.
sarah.simpson@cowichanvalleycitizen.comLike us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
