SLO firefighter ‘believed in me more than I believed in myself,’ grieving fiancee says
The fiancee of Joey De Anda, the firefighter from San Luis Obispo who died Saturday in a snowboarding accident at China Peak, remembered him as a loving partner who was my “best friend, my cheerleader, my partner in crime.”
Melissa Newman shared her grief and memories in an Instagram post on Tuesday.
“Where do I even start …” Newman wrote. “Going from planning a wedding to planning a funeral is unimaginable.”
“Joey was/is everything to me,” she wrote. “... He made so many of my dreams come true from seeing Beyoncé to meeting a sloth to being able go on incredible trips I wouldn’t have been on otherwise.”
De Anda proposed to Newman in July 2021, according to his Instagram, which documented the couple’s travels and time spent with their dog, Lucy. The two had been dating for three years before the engagement.
Newman worked a multimedia journalist and weekend weather anchor at KSBY for three years until last May, according to her Instagram account.
“He worked tirelessly just to make sure I was happy, protected, and loved. I am still really struggling to accept that all of this is even real. I am still hoping that he will walk in the front door at any moment,” she wrote. “... He often believed in me more than I believed in myself. I don’t think we’ll ever truly know just how many people he impacted and lives that were made better just by knowing him.”
“I don’t know how Lucy and I will do this next part without you Joey,” Newman concluded, “but I know you will be watching us with a handful of peanut m&ms in one hand and an old fashioned in the other. Here’s to our forever superhero @joeyboy_12.”
De Anda served in emergency medical services for more than 10 years along California’s Central Coast. He began his career with the Santa Barbara County Fire Department in January 2020. He also studied journalism at Cal Poly and Cuesta College and worked at KSBY and KCOY.
On Tuesday, De Anda’s body was returned to the Central Coast in a somber procession from Fresno to Santa Maria. In San Luis Obispo County, firefighters and supporters gathered on overpasses to pay their respects as the line of emergency vehicles passed below with lights flashing.
The Santa Barbara County Firefighter’s Benevolent Foundation is raising money to help support De Anda’s family during this time. To donate to the foundation, go to www.sbcbf.com.
This story was originally published January 11, 2022 at 6:04 PM.
