Joshua Pickard remembered

Terri Pickard sent out a photo of herself being held up by her four sons with her Christmas cards last week. The young men are laughing as their mother lies horizontally in their arms, and she is smiling from ear to ear.

But by the time those cards reach the mailboxes of friends and family, most will have heard that one of those young men isn't alive to celebrate the holiday.

Marine Corps Cpl. Joshua Pickard, a 20-year-old Merced County native, was killed by small arms fire early Tuesday morning in Iraq.

Thelma Wybenga, Joshua Pickard's grandmother and Terri's mother, said her daughter is handling the death as well as can be expected.

"She's hanging in there," Wybenga said, outside her daughter's Merced home Wednesday. "She has a really close family."

Wybenga said her grandson was a "fun kid" who always was joking around and roughhousing with his brothers Dylan, Tyson and Darren.

"Whenever one would come home, they would always wrestle on the floor," she said. "Trying to see who was tougher."

Pickard's former teachers also remember him as a fun-loving jokester.

"I knew his rebellious side a little bit," said Debbie Johnston, Pickard's teacher in seventh and eighth grade at McSwain School. "He had that little devilish grin."

Johnston said she was once neighbors with the Pickards and came home to a house covered in toilet paper.

She said Pickard approached her at school the next day, commenting that he heard her house had been TP'd.

"I said, 'yeah, Josh, what do you know about that,'" Johnston said. "He just grinned that grin of his."

Third-grade teacher La'Wanna Sprinkle had her students write letters to Pickard last year while he was on his first tour in Iraq.

While on leave in April 2006, Pickard visited her McSwain classroom and shared his experiences with her students.

"He did a fantastic job with the children, telling them he was there to help the good people," Sprinkle said. "I know that he touched their lives forever."

One of those students is 10-year-old Rylie Amarant, who was in Sprinkle's class last year.

"He was really cool," Amarant said. "He showed us that not all people in Iraq are bad."

Amarant said when he heard about Pickard's death at school Wednesday, he was upset.

"I felt sad for his family," Amarant said.

Amarant's mom, Katrina, said prior to hearing about Pickard's death, her son had a different outlook on the conflict in Iraq.

"He's young, he thinks being in the war is cool," she said. "To actually know someone (who was killed) will make it a little more real for him."

With so many students who either met or wrote letters to Pickard, the school had many upset children on campus Wednesday.

Sprinkle said teachers had discussions with their students this morning and school counselor Joann Warcup also met with classes.

"I talked about how hard it is to lose somebody we've given our hearts to," Warcup said. "They were doing pretty darn good in such a hard situation."

Many students were prompted by teachers to write letters, poems or draw pictures for the Pickard family. A book was put together of these creations the school hopes to give to the family.

Rylie Amarant said he plans to write a letter to the family of what the school children are calling their "Marine angel."

"I'm going to say I'm really sorry that their son died and that I was glad to meet him," he said. "He was a good man."

Atwater City Council member Joe Rivero led a tribute to Pickard and a moment of silence at Wednesday night's Buhach Colony High School girl's basketball game with Manteca High School.

"It is right for us to honor this hero by praying for his family and loved ones. Joshua, like several hundred thousand other American service personnel, loved his country, appreciated his freedoms and worshiped God with such love and devotion. He wanted to do his part in helping others to share in these God-given graces. Joshua made the ultimate sacrifice," Rivero said.

Laurie Bazan said she had known Pickard since he was 8 years old. Even as a young child he was a most respectful and responsible young man.

"He was always caring about others. He was just an exemplary young man who will be very missed. He was friends with everybody and always had a kind word to say," Bazan said.

Scott Wine, Buhach Colony athletic director and social studies teacher, coached Pickard several years ago. He said Pickard came by to visit last spring and they talked about old times, life in the military and the fun they had.

"He was a very nice young man and a lot of fun to have on the team. He was very coachable. He kept things fun in life," Wine said.

John Olson, Buhach Colony associate principal, said Pickard's No. 50 football jersey would be retired in a ceremony sometime in mid-January during a school rally. The jersey would be displayed on a wall in the school gym.

From the Sun Star

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