Collegiate Times

Joshua Lee Lilliston, a member of the Corps of Cadets, died this past weekend of cancer.

Lilliston, a freshman university studies major, had a rare cancer in his eye called myoepithelial carcinoma, according to a support website created by Lilliston’s friends and family.

He was a trumpet and bugle player in the Highty Tighties, and intended to major in mechanical engineering and minor in leadership.

Although Lilliston had been enrolled as an academic freshman in the past, he was not currently taking classes this semester, said Mark Owczarski, university spokesman. 

Lilliston made the Commandant’s List — a group of Cadets who made a 3.0 grade point average or higher — and the Dean’s List for the 2010 fall semester.

Upperclassmen in the Corps have established a scholarship fund in his name for students who have a medical condition that prevents them from joining the military. Those wishing to donate to the fund can mail checks to the Virginia Tech Foundation, making them out to VTCC Lilliston.

Lilliston was from Bel Air, Md. and graduated from Bel Air Senior High School 2010.  He was an active member of Trinity Lutheran Church and participated in Boy Scouts.

A version of this article appeared in the Nov 1 issue of the Collegiate Times.