SPRING, Texas — It's a moment every parent dreams of, watching their child walk across the stage and receive their high school diploma. But for James Thomas, his wife and daughter, it's a moment they knew would never be possible.
"I wish he were here every day," Joseph's father James Thomas said. "What happened to Joseph was a tragic event."
Two years ago Joseph lost his life on Memorial Day. He got caught in a riptide at Matagorda Beach while trying to save a friend. On Sunday, he would have graduated from Spring High School.
"Everybody knew who Joseph Thomas was," his sister Jamie said.
The class of 2021 paid tribute to their fallen friend and his family on Sunday night. Spring ISD conferred a posthumous graduation diploma to Joseph. His sister walked the stage for her brother.
"I would rather watch him do it," Jamie said. "But I'm proud that I'm able to have the opportunity to do it for him and receive his diploma and close this chapter."
It was an emotional night.
"I know he deserves this recognition and for people to know his name," Jamie said.
The tribute means so much to a family who is still mourning their beloved son. His legacy will live on in eight of his fellow classmates who were awarded the Joseph Thomas Memorial Scholarship.
"As long as I live, he'll be remembered," James Thomas said. "As long as we live he's going to be loved."