John Herbert Justen

Obituary John Herbert Justen was born during WWII on December 1, 1943 to June and John Justen in Cheyenne Wyoming. Johns father was in the army and was sent to Germany. When the war ended in 1945 June took her two year old, John, on a ship across the ocean to Germany to join Johns father. Anyone that has had a 2 year old could imagine just how much fun that had to have been. The family lived in Germany for the next two years. When they returned to the United States Johns family made their home in Aurora where he and his two younger brothers, Jack and Jim grew up giving each other a hard time whenever they could! In 1971 John married the love of his life, Mary. They met on a blind date and went on to have two kids Jake and Erin. John loved his family more than anything and he was extremely devoted to his children. Anyone who knew John knew just how much he loved boy scouts. One of his favorite things to do was participate in the Indian dance troop. He also earned his Eagle Rank and Order of the Arrow. When Jake was born there was no question that he would become a boy scout. John eventually started troop 43 and mentored many scouts, including Jake, on their journeys to earning their Eagle Rank. One of the favorite trips John and Jake shared was their llama backpacking trip, where they learned that llamas really do spit. Another favorite pastime of John and Jakes was bowling, well, until Jake started beating him! John would do anything for his little girl, Erin. He coached and refereed her soccer, softball, and basketball teams. He never said no to any activity his little girl wanted to try. He was never more proud than the day Erin graduated from Colorado School of Mines as an engineer. Well, that is until he danced with her at her wedding when she married Joe Matterson. John was over the moon when his grandson Justen was born. He could not have been happier to move to Colorado Springs where he could spend almost every day with him. One of his absolute favorite things to do was to tour every store in Colorado Springs on the motorized shopping carts with Justen in his lap. They were training to be in the "Indy 500" of motorized shopping carts! There were only two pictures that got to stay in his wallet, one of Justen and the other of Monty. Monty was a rescue dog from Life Line Puppy Rescue, who became his constant companion. Little Monty was guaranteed to never go hungry. John gave him every treat in the world. John was known to be stubborn and always on the go. He was always ready for a new adventure and he was never afraid of hard work. He held many different jobs growing up paper boy, lifeguard, working with the Forest Service fighting forest fires, joining the army and serving in the military police in Germany during Vietnam. He retired from the Colorado Department of Highways. But by far his favorite job was being a dad and "Grampy. During the last few years he put up a hard fight to be with all of us. He was most upset not with the pain but with not being able to drive again. Boy did he love his Envoy! When he lost his battle on Feb 23, this year, we lost a strong, stubborn to the end, man who will be forever loved and missed. Among the best things we can give each other are good memories, and boy, Dad, did you give us a lifetime of those. We will always love you! In Lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to: Life Line Puppy Rescue C/O Jenna Lopez 6753 Hooker St. Denver, CO 80221 www.lifelinepuppy.org University of Texas MD Anderson Center Deborah L Justen Fund for Ovarian Cancer Research PO Box 4486 Houston, TX 77210-4486 Services Memorial Mass Wednesday March 4, 2015 11:00 AM St. Patricks Catholic Church 6455 Brook Park Dr. Colorado Springs, Co. 80918