Joshua Livernois, a former Monterey County resident and a friend to frazzled misfit dogs everywhere, died on Oct. 11 in Gerlach, Nev. He was 46.
The limitations of language and the shock of his loss prevents a sufficient description of the beauty of his spirit, his boundless love, his profound intellect, his goofy creativity and the damnable cruelty of his demons. So we’ll stick to the basics.
Josh was born in Mad River Community Hospital in Arcata on 7/17/77 and lived in several dozen communities along the West Coast over the years. He graduated from Lakeview High School, way out in the middle of nowhere in Oregon, and from CSU Monterey Bay. His capstone at CSUMB’s Teledramatic Arts and Technology Department was a curious documentary called “Where the Hell is Prunedale?,” which wasn’t nominated for an Oscar, but then life isn’t fair. Josh, aka “Josh Livingroom,” did a lot of other different things while living in Monterey County. For instance, he was married briefly to Rose Nowatski and they became the proud parents of Arlo Livernois, now living in Chico. Polite society in Monterey County will likely remember Josh as their suave and genial waiter at Spado’s restaurant. (God bless John Spadaro, BTW.) Josh gravitated to Reno about 15 years ago to be with his life partner, Leslie Castle. While there he became a dedicated activist for harm reduction programs.
His street-level work saved countless lives. His experiences and his advocacy for meaningful drug policies landed him appointments to prestigious commissions and committees with names like the Nevada Behavioral Health Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Commission. He also clashed with bureaucrats who he believed did not share his sense of urgency about the public health crisis represented by the opioid epidemic.
Josh was also a dedicated employee of Gate, Perimeter and Exodus and the
Department of Public Works at Black Rock City for 10 years. He worked Burning Man as a set-up crew member, as a security specialist, as a MOOP removal grunt and as a hippie wrangler.
He was a punk at heart, but his musical tastes were varied and eclectic; his playlists were the stuff of legends. His doodles were works of art. He dabbled in ukulele and performance art. His way with words and his gift of gab exposed superior intelligence, depth and wit.
In addition to Leslie and Arlo, Josh is survived by his parents, Cynthia Vaughan of Oregon and Joe and Loma Livernois of Monterey; two brothers, Jeren and Tynan; two sisters, Samantha and Betty; and numerous cousins, uncles and aunts, including the incredible Aunt Tracie Vaughan-Dickens and Claire Colleen Vaughan-Dickens. He was preceded in death by another brother, Brian Dewbre.
In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be directed to The Livingroom Fund at Remedy Alliance/For the People. As mentioned, Josh was also known for his senseless love for raggedy misfit canines, especially weiner dogs. So if you’d like to kick in a donation to your favorite local animal rescue agency in Josh’s honor, that’d be cool too.
A celebration of his life is scheduled Nov. 4 at Cypress Music in Reno.
Finally, the family knows that Josh would wish that everyone read a book and
quit being so stupid.