DON’T GIVE UP THE FIGHT –

Jan. 25, 2024 – Daniel Hand High School graduate Joe Deane lost his life due to fentanyl poisoning in 2018 after numerous attempts to shake his addiction and get his promising future headed in a positive direction. Hunter Mayhew was Joe’s best friend, and Joe’s death still looms over Hunter, his friends, and especially the Deane family, who are all still grieving the potential of Joe that was lost forever.

Hunter spent his youth with Joe among a close circle of friends, playing sports and eventually becoming part of the Deane clan.

“I met Joe when we were really young. We had classes together, probably as far back as early middle school at least 5th grade. I really knew him for most of my life,” says Hunter. “Joe had one of those personalities where it was hard not to like him. He was always in a good mood. It was hard not to gravitate towards him. Growing up as kids, we were more like siblings. Things were not super great at home for me, and I spent a lot of time at the Deane house growing up and got to know the whole family really well. I still think of Joe’s brother as a close friend. Sometimes I struggle to put words to the bond Joe and I had, but he’s irreplaceable and, to me, he was a sibling—that simple.”

After graduation, Hunter pursued a business degree, but soon found that the corporate world was not his path in life. After transferring, he obtained a degree in Art Therapy, where he was involved in internships and gained experience in addiction recovery and counseling.

READ@Zip06