BROTHER JOEY

               Joseph R. Tello, age 34, passed away June 22, 2018 in Steamboat Springs Colorado. In his early years, Joey was a student at Scott Lake Elementary in Lakeland Florida and a George Jenkins High School graduate. He attended University of South Florida in Tampa. He loved his family deeply and treasured his many friendships. He had an infectious smile and an amazing sense of humor. He spent many great years in St. Augustine Florida where he became an avid surfer and developed a passion for live music. He traveled with friends to hundreds of live events around the country and would return home with plans in place for the next.

               Joey was an outdoorsman and had been working and living in Colorado for the past two years. In his short tenure in Steamboat, his network of friends grew quickly and his passing hit the town hard. 

               Joey is survived by his mother Kippy Capers and stepdad Joe Capers of Lakeland Florida, and Mars Hill, NC, his father Steve Tello and stepmother Caroline Tello of Ft. Lauderdale Florida, his brother Danny Tello of Manhattan Beach, California, his sister Julie Tello (Doug Wilson), of Orlando Florida, as well as a large extended family.

               Joey was my brother. If you'd ever met him, then he was also your brother... a friend...our family and now a spirit that will continue to energize all who crossed paths with him. People naturally gravitated towards his infectious personality - in a room full of energy, Joey had the most. And while the legacy he leaves behind is untraditional, it will be long lasting in the form lessons he taught us. One that I carry with me is to enjoy living, which is something he did very well.

               Joey was a good student, but preferred to create his own curriculum. He majored in originality and minored in keeping life simple. After all, the only things he really carried with him were his big head of hair and whatever else he needed for his current adventure. His enviable appreciation for having fun superseded his list of day-to-day priorities. If Joey was lost, I would imagine would take the map someone slipped in his back pocket, and trade it for some music to listen to while he created his own path home. Invite Joey to an event, and you could expect him to show up in his best T-Shirt, wondering why everyone was overdressed in suits.

               You might expect this tribute to end with "He is...the most interesting man in the world". I don't think Dos Equis was his brew of choice, but he gladly would have shared one with you, and that's only part of what made him a Legend. As we so often said of my brother, "There's never a dull moment".