Senior Airman Joshua Vernon LeRette, 24, formerly of West Brooklyn, died June 30, 2021 while stationed with the U.S. Air Force at Yokata Air Base in Japan.

Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, July 15 at the Merritt Funeral Home, Mendota. Graveside services will be held at noon on Friday, July 16 at Rock Island National Cemetery, Moline with full military honors conducted by members of Scott Air Force Base.

Joshua was born Nov. 27, 1996 in Rochelle to Allen and Ann (Burkart) LeRette.

Survivors include his father, Al LeRette of West Brooklyn and his mother, Ann LeRette of Sacramento, Calif.; two brothers, Luke LeRette of Eustis, Fla. and Sam LeRette of Eugene, Ore.; and two aunts, Diane Dearing and Linda Sublett.

He was preceded in death by his paternal and maternal grandparents.

Joshua graduated from Mendota High School in 2015 where is was a wrestler. He joined the U.S. Air Force immediately after graduation and began serving his country on Oct. 13, 2015. He very quickly surpassed his superiors during training and earned the title of Senior Airman. He most recently served as a field technician as part of the 709th squadron. Josh would have had a long and promising career with the Air Force. He loved what he was doing and received several honors. His greatest passion was video gaming. He also loved to goof off and joke around with everyone and party with his friends. He enjoyed riding his 4-wheeler, shooting guns, fixing old cars and tinkering with all things mechanical. He had been to Texas, Colorado and Japan with the Air Force and looked forward to continuing to travel around the world.

Memorials may be directed to Wounded Warriors.