Antoinette
James Scognamiglio, son, brother, grandson, nephew, cousin, friend, died from a heroin overdose on December 21, 2014. He was 24 years old and was in no way shape form ready to leave this earth. Heroin saw to it that he did.
Growing up and also as a young man, James Scognamiglio (J Scogs) was remarkably honest, trusting to the point of naïve, an extremely hard worker who was ALWAYS on time. He was in landscaping and later hired by a hardscaping contractor in early 2014 and he discovered he really enjoyed the hard labor. He took a lot of pride in his work. He was a very talented guitar player who also mastered drums. He loved rock music from the time he was a little boy and was a big Jimi Hendrix fan. He was also a fantastic fisherman, and his dad’s best buddy in the boat. He was a huge Giants fan and enjoyed watching games with his dad and yelling profanities at the screen. Jim, his father, is left with the most enormous gaping hole in his heart and his existence in not having James here. James was his oldest, his namesake. His son and his best buddy.
James LOVED his food! I could always count on James to call me or text me about what time dinner would be served and of course, what exactly is for dinner. Mom desperately misses those texts. Thanksgiving 2014 was the last major holiday we all spent together as a family. I’ll never forget that perfect Thanksgiving of 2014.
He loved his heavy metal bands, and also hip hop and rap ~ Slip Knot, Eminem, Ozzy, SoulFly, his idol, Randy Rhodes. He lifted weights and was incredibly strong. He used amino protein drinks to boost his strength and potential. James was also bullied from 6th through 12th grades, and as a result had very low self esteem and always wanted the approval of the “popular kids.” The cruel mistreatment from his peers left a mark on him that would torment him on a daily basis. He desperately wanted a girlfriend and had goals of buying a nicer car and getting his own apartment. But his confidence issues always blocked him in actually getting a girlfriend. He was extremely handsome with green eyes, beautiful high cheekbones and a strong jawline. Tall, and so physically fit. James was beautiful inside and out.
James was also extremely impulsive and had a tendency to speed, earning a number of tickets. In the summer of 2013, James was speeding home from hanging out at a friend’s house and was pulled over. The officer smelled marijuana and searched his car, finding a pot pipe. As part of his “sentence” James was sent to NA. At NA, he made a number of great friendships, along with one deadly one. A pretty girl with a history of heroin abuse became James’ “friend” and introduced him to heroin. From the paper trail left in his room, I saw that by late 2014, he was stopping in to Paterson to withdraw money from his bank account. There was never any evidence of the danger that had walked into my home. James never stole from us. No money or jewelry ever went missing. I never saw him “nodding out.” No straws in his room. No residue on furniture. No glassine envelopes left behind. Nothing.
After 3 days in ICU, we were informed that James had no brain activity and his vital organs had shut down. He was clinically dead. On December 21,2014, we ordered the ventilator to be shut off and our son died at 2:02 in the afternoon.
James is fiercely mourned by his mother, father, brother, grandmother, aunt, uncle and friends. James, we will ALWAYS LOVE YOU AND REMEMBER YOU and MOM WILL CARRY YOUR MESSAGE TO THE GRAVE. GOD BLESS YOU, SON.
