A heartbreaking tragedy took place when a 3-year-old boy named Josiah Toleafoa was killed on the day he was supposed to celebrate his third birthday.
The sweet boy and his family were at the parking lot of Play City, an indoor venue for kids’ parties, when a car hit Josiah.
Witnesses of the tragedy said that his devastated mother screamed and cried hysterically as paramedics were trying to save his life. Unfortunately, Josiah didn’t make it. He died at the Rady Children’s Hospital.
This family’s lives turned upside down. What was supposed to be a day of joy turned into the worst experience of their lives. Their happiness was replaced with grief and sorrow and their world shattered into a million pieces.
Reportedly, the 36-year-old driver who killed Josiah and whose identity hasn’t been confirmed wasn’t under influence of drugs or alcohol. He stayed at the scene and cooperated with the authorities and reasons behind the loss of control haven’t been confirmed.
Members of the family started a GoFundMe to help Josiah’s mom and dad with the funeral expenses.
“JOSIAH brought the family together- his incredible SMILE, LOVING HEART simply brought JOY to any room. There was no time to see him do amazing things. I KNOW HE WOULD HAVE MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD,” the boy’s aunt, Tatiana Toleafoa wrote.
“We’re doing this gofundme to help with my sweet nephew’s funeral expenses and services for the little angel that touched so many lives in so many different ways before he was called to Heaven. Any amount would help, anything at all. We are so thankful to have loving family and friends to be with us and love us through this horrible tragedy and want to be able to put him to rest to say goodbye and never forget the little boy who loved with a tremendous heart,” the page stated.
The owner of Play City donated $2,000 to the Josiah’s family and that the landlord matched his donation as well.
Currently, no arrests have been made.
We are so very sorry for this family’s heartbreak. There is no greater loss than that of losing a child.
Rest in peace, Josiah.
Ron Howard calls wife ‘good luck charm,’ shares secret to 49-year marriage
“Remember how we always said, ‘You can do it if you want, but you don’t have to?’ Well if you start this, you can’t quit’,” said Howard, recalling a conversation he had with his parents decades before. “You don’t have to do other parts on other shows, if you don’t want, but you’d have to keep doing this one.”
Explaining that he understood the message his parents were delivering, Howard adds, “I think it was pretty clear at that point that I was enjoying it, and I was good at it.”
Actually, he was great at it, and he was about to reach a level of stratospheric stardom.
Howard’s ‘Happy Days’
While starring in The Andy Griffith Show, Howard also appeared on the big screen in 1962’s The Music Man, a musical film that was a huge commercial success.
A natural talent, he then starred in 1973’s American Graffiti, which also starred Harrison Ford, Richard Dreyfuss and Cindy Williams, whom he would work alongside in the future.
It was in 1974 when he was cast as Richie Cunningham in a new series created by Garry Marshall called Happy Days, which appeared on TV screens in homes across the world from 1974 to 1984.
The TV show spawned a few popular spin-offs like Laverne & Shirley, starring Williams and Marshall’s sister Penny, and Mork & Mindy with Robin Williams as Mork, the favorite Orkan.
High school sweetheart
It was in 1970 – before he won a Golden Globe for his performance as the innocent teenager on Happy Days – that Howard met the high school sweetheart, Cheryl Alley, whom he would marry in 1975.
“I met her, and there was never anybody else,” Speaking with People, the director of the Da Vinci Code continued, “She’s unbelievably supportive and always has been. Our compatibility has endured through all kinds of experiences.”
After 50 years of shared experiences, Howard, who earned an Oscar for directing A Beautiful Mind, commemorated the 50th anniversary of his first date with Cheryl on Instagram.
“Nov 1 1970 Cheryl & I went on our 1st date,” he wrote alongside a photo of himself wearing socks with images of Cheryl’s face. “We went to see a re-release of Stanley Kramer’s It’s a Mad Mad Mad World and then got some pizza at now defunct Barnone’s in Toluca Lake. Quite a start, right?”
He also shared their plans that day, “We’ll be driving in the same ‘70 VW Bug I picked Cheryl up in 5 decades ago. It runs great. So do we.”
His ‘good luck charm’
Cheryl made several cameos in Howard’s projects and even played herself on the TV comedy series Arrested Development, produced and narrated by Howard.
Speaking with the Television Academy, Ron called Cheryl his “good luck charm,” and explained that is why she appears in every film he makes.
“At a certain point, I became very superstitious about making sure that she appears, that she’s at least identifiable in one frame,” he said. “They don’t have to be big cameos, but she’s gotta be in there.”
In addition to bringing her husband some luck, Cheryl is also a published author who holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in screenwriting.
The power couple are grandparents to six children and the parents of four, daughter Bryce, twins Paige and Jocelyn and son Reed.
Bryce – a recognizable actor – is known for roles in movies like Jurassic World and The Help, while Paige made her feature film debut in the 2009 movie Adventureland. Since she’s appeared in films The Employer and Collection.
Reed is a professional golfer and Paige’s twin sister Jocelyn is very private.
The secret to longevity
Nearing their 49th anniversary on June 7, the Emmy Award-winning producer shares that “communication” is the secret to their enduring love.
“People say, ‘How’d you do it?’ There’s no technique,” Howard tells People. “There’s no tactic, other than communication is really important. You have to learn to communicate and have difficult conversations in constructive ways. Beyond that, there’s an element of luck because people either grow together or they don’t and I don’t think you can force that.”
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