Viewing Joey, as he lay in his casket tonight, gave me the desire to share some of my memories of him - with his family and friends.

  My name is Kevin McMahan.  I am the nephew of Ken Stenger, co-owner of KenMarc Electric.  I am 37 now, but I have worked on-and-off at KenMarc since I was 16.  I have worked with a lot of electricians.  Some I have forgotten, and others I will never forget.  Joey is definitely one I will never forget!

  When people talk about married couples, they often say "opposites attract" and "you should marry your best friend."  Some construction worker relationships are like "marriages" - in that we seem to get along best with guys that are a little different than us, but with whom we also share similar interests.  Spending eight hours a day together, allows us to get to know each other fairly well.  Joey and I got along good, together - because we were different in some ways, but also had some similar interests.  We approached work in different ways, but we were also both very proud fathers.

  When I start a project, I want to "attack it," and start completing it as soon as possible - without much pre-planning.  Joey was different, in that he would approach the job more consciously and cautiously.  He would take his time figuring-out the best approach, before jumping into something new.  He was not the fastest electrician, but his work was typically done right the first time - eliminating the need for "trouble-shooting."  I learned a lot from working with him!

  I remember commenting to him, last week, about how "even keel" and "mellow" he was.  He never seemed to get too excited about much.  I told him that some people might misinterpret his dry sense of humor as "being mean."  He explained that some people just did not understand him - but, he was fine with that.  He did not feel the need to explain himself (nor, did he have to) - just to try to get people to "like" him.  I respected Joey, because he was comfortable with who he was.

  I enjoyed working with him.  He always listened intently to my stories, and he would share his own interesting and personal stories with me.  He was proud of his younger brother, and when he would talk about his mom, he always refrerred to her simply as "mom" (not "my mom.")  It was as if he was saying she was "everyone's mom."  He was always friendly towards me.  (In my mind, he was a typical, well-mannered and hard-working, "Indiana country boy.")  We liked to give each other a hard time - but, I cannot recall a time when Joey ever said anything to me with truly "mean intent."

  One of KenMarc's foremen liked to refer to Joey as the "little brother he never had."  (And, he would jokingly add, "the little brother he never wanted.")  It was definitely a joke.  I know this foreman liked Joey as a good friend, and when Joey was hired by KenMarc - he was the one who took Joey "under his wing" (looking-out for him and teaching him the correct way to install electric).

  I knew Joey before he had his son, Will - and after he became a dad.  I noticed a big change in his personality, after he became a dad.  From what I saw, he became more aware of what was really important in life - being the best father for his son.  That is the hardest part of knowing that he is gone - that he will not be able to raise his son.  Last Friday, at lunch, I was discussing with him the importance of enrolling his son in a good preschool.  I know Joey was looking forward to helping Will grow into a responsible man.

  I know Joey really enjoyed his recent vacation to Kentucky, with his son and his mom, to the Corvette Museum and the "Thomas the Train" ride.  He showed me pictures on his cell phone, and told me some of the highlights.  A couple of nights ago, I watched the two videos on Joey's Facebook page, in which he recorded Will dancing at a festival on the 4th of July and in the aisle at Walmart.  You can sense that Joey was in awe, as well as proud of- and happy with- the "joy" he had created!

  There are definitely more stories that I could share about my friend, Joey.  I am sure we will be telling stories about him, at work, for years to come.

  I am sorry for the loss of Joey.  It was definitely too soon.