When you look at Wyoming on this map, you don’t see, right away, where J.T. Lindemann lived, or how he charmed his teachers as a kid, taught himself to play guitar and drums, how he made people happy.

You also don’t see how he died at age 22 from complications related to a drug overdose. 

Just zoom in.

Find Laramie, and you’ll soon find J.T.’s bearded, grinning face in a big photo and see his story. You’ll see the story of a talented guy, the younger brother of a man who today refuses to let the 22-year-old’s face go unseen, his life unknown.

► Dec. 17: More teens vape, but binge drinking and opioid use are down
► Dec. 12: Fentanyl now America’s deadliest drug, federal health officials say
► Nov. 29: Suicides, drug overdoses rise as US life expectancy drops

Now, pull back out and search around.

So far almost 1,800 life stories are chronicled, including one memorializing Coty Glass of Dry Ridge, Kentucky, who, like J.T., died at 22. 

Jeremiah Lindemann of Denver hopes the map helps even more people this holiday season. The map is his baby, and J.T. is his late brother.

“My brother passed away over 10 years ago,” Lindemann said. “I was real quiet and didn’t talk about it for a long time. As it grew in the news, I realized I couldn’t be quiet.”

People were dying from their addictions to opioids, prescriptions and heroin, and other people couldn’t seem to understand it. He needed to show his brother’s face.

But not just J.T.’s.

► Nov. 28: Melania Trump calls opioid epidemic ‘worst drug crisis in history’
► Oct. 24: What’s included in the opioids bill signed by President Trump

He created Celebrating Lost Lives in 2015. He shot it across social media, tweeting to others with the handle @RXHeroinMaps, encouraging them to join the effort.

Rhonda Dupuy of Dry Ridge found out through social media and shared the story and photo of her son with Lindemann.

This is my son Coty Glass, my oldest of three children. Forever 22. Coty was the first person that I knew I would give my life for and love unconditionally.

Coty loved all types of music, pulling tractors, riding four wheelers, the outdoors, hanging out with his friends and making others laugh.

Three years later, Dupuy is still comforted by the map.

“It helps me by letting others know my child existed and that he was more than an addict,” she said. “Every person on there matters and should be remembered for who they were, not how they died.”

Lindemann started small with people like Dupuy emailing him. Later, he made the map interactive.

► Oct. 3: Patient deaths bring scrutiny to addiction treatment centers
► Aug. 10: Number of pregnant women addicted to opioids soars over 15 years

This year, the National Safety Council contacted him to ask about people on the map. Lindemann offered the map to the agency, thinking it could grow more.

The council took him up on that offer. However, Lindemann did not let go

“I still review and approve submissions,” he said. “And promote it.”

He does it for J.T., who developed such a love for music that, his big brother wrote, “As lyrics came to him, he would write on fast-food napkins and scraps of paper. You could find him sitting outside singing and playing his guitar softly.”

Response to the map has humbled him, Lindemann said. It made sense for him to create it because he’s a solution engineer at Esri, a software company that does mapping.

He wanted to make a memorial to those who died and for their living relatives and friends. But he had another goal, too: “Break stigma.”

► July 2: Chronic pain patients, overlooked in opioid crisis, getting new attention
► April 9: Drug-fueled infections are ‘ticking time bomb’ for nation

“I just wanted people to listen,” Lindemann said. “Human compassion is needed for results.”

“The map certainly helps with that,” he said.

Follow Terry DeMio on Twitter: @tdemio

Add your loved one

Go to the NSC Memorial Site — Celebrating Lost Loved Ones:

• From your computer, click the blue button that says, “Add Lost Loved One.” Or from your phone, click the button “Participate” at the bottom of the browser.

• A screen will pop up. Choose “Continue as Guest.”

• The next screen allows you to upload a photo, name and title of the person. Pick a location on the map and write a story of up to 200 words.

• When finished, click “Accept Terms and Submit.” 

• Within three days, your submission will be reviewed and added to the map.

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