MANKATO — Mankato resident Deborah Juberian is remembering her grandson Joshya Juberian as someone who always had a smile on his face after the 15-year-old died following a skiing accident during the weekend.
“Just a lovely, beautiful child. Nice child,” she said. “Didn’t mind getting hugs. I’d always tell him I loved him all the time and he told me he loved me back.”
The Mankato East High School student went skiing with friends Saturday at Mount Kato and died after the accident happened, his grandmother said.
Juberian said Joshya always wanted to be with family and would play games or cards with her.
“We used to go fishing and take them camping. I used to live in the country, and he loved it out there.”
Juberian said when Joshya was younger, he used to think the acres of land she owned was a park.
“He always wanted to collect the chicken eggs and put them in his pocket when he was little. I said, ‘You’re going to break one,’” she said.
Joshya was also an avid reader, Juberian said, and had an interest in bugs.
“He knew all about bugs. The names of them. Just something that intrigued him very much. He’d look them all up and tell me what they were,” she said.
A call to Mount Kato, which was closed on Wednesday, was not returned.