Local man celebrated by his family after his death

Jul. 22—LENOIR

Jesse Franklin Justice, Jr. is remembered fondly by his friends, family, and all who knew him.

Justice was born in Caldwell County on March 8, 1925 to the late Jesse "Tack" Justice, Sr. and Mamie Lou Beard Thompson. On Saturday, July 9, Justice passed away at the age of 97 at Blue Ridge Regional Hospital in Spruce Pine.

His daughters, Kathy McKinney and Diana Justice, as well as his son-in-law, Ted McKinney, remember Justice as a gentle and loving husband, father, and friend.

"He was a wonderful father," said Kathy. "He was so easy-going and low key. Right or wrong, we were never disciplined. He was wonderful, loving."

"He always went by Junior, never Jesse," said Ted.

Three months after his 18th birthday, Justice joined the military and proudly served in the army for four years. He fought battles in New Guinea, the Southern Philippines, Luzon, and Malodie Island. During his military career, he was awarded the Pacific Service Medal, the American Theatre Service Medal, the Asiatic Pacific Service Medal, the Philippine Liberation Medal, as well as two Purple Hearts, four Bronze Service Stars, the World War II Victory Medal, and was nominated for the Silver Star Medal.

"He didn't talk a lot about his military service," said Diana. "The things that he did tell, you just wonder how these people got through WWII."

Diana and Kathy both remembered one story in particular.

"He and seven soldiers were accidentally left in New Guinea," Diana said. "At that time, it was considered the most dangerous place on the planet ... They had to live over there and survive among the headhunters for six months, according to what we've been told. It was very frightening for all of them."

Justice told his daughters that there was one soldier in his group from Australia who could interpret a little of what the headhunters were saying.

"He heard them talking about how they were going to eat these soldiers whenever they got the chance. It scared them all to death," Diana said. "He said they all stayed right together. Safety in numbers, I guess."

After leaving the military, Justice worked for Caldwell Furniture for almost 20 years. Later, he and his brother, Bill Collins, installed septic tanks for many years until Justice retired.

When Justice's wife, Irene Whisnant Justice, fell sick and had to be on dialysis, Justice took excellent care of her.

"He was very attentive to my mother," said Kathy. "She became very ill early. She was on dialysis for ten years. During the whole time that she was sick, he took personal care of her. He did all the cooking, everything."

Sadly, Irene passed away in 2003.

Kathy said that her father loved wildlife and always kept chickens and bees. He also liked to make his own wine for his personal use and for his friends.

"We used to love to go up to Wilson's Creek in the summer when he'd get home in the evenings," Diana said. "It would be so hot. We loved to go up there as a family, and they would just let us play."

Justice's two favorite places to go were the Lenoir Soup Kitchen and local Good Will.

"He went every day," Diana recalled. "He just liked to go and be around people. He was really sorry about it when COVID made it so nobody could go in."

Justice had no grandchildren of his own, but he was very fond of his nieces and nephews.

"I never heard him raise his voice, never heard one bad word from him or anything derogatory about anybody," Ted said. "He just was a good, sweet person."

Justice was always in excellent health before he suffered multiple strokes earlier this year. He drove his silver GM pickup until the day he was hospitalized.

"He never spent a day in the hospital since WWII," said Ted. "About the day after he had three strokes, he was real weak. We took him to the VA. He was getting along pretty well, so they sent him to the Center in Spruce Pine. Over night, he had a stroke. He was in a coma the last three days he was alive."

Jesse Franklin Justice, Jr. was interned at Blue Ridge Memorial Park in Lenoir with military honors on Wednesday, July 13.

"He was very smart," said Ted. "He knew more than most people I ever associated with, and I used to be a clerk of court and revenue auditor. He was as smart as anybody I knew."