Justin Keele's Make A Difference Award

My sweet son

The last few weeks we have been cleaning out our barn. It is a chore that was long overdue. In the process we have had to sort through a lot of “stuff” from childhood treasures to items that we no longer need but just couldn’t quite let go of. It was difficult for your dad and me to go through a lot of your old school work, Electrolyte Sound contracts, personal notes, receipts and photos. I must say you kept your paperwork organized once you left home. Nicole and Mike helped us and we were all pleased to know that one day, little Miles will enjoy playing with all your cars and trucks. As I reminisce, it seems that you lived your life more fully than any of us. You made your life an adventure; you knew how to have fun and play yet still remained true to worthy goals, remaining responsible and caring along the way. As we all know life is not easy for any of us but you seemed to weather your challenges well coming out on the other side a bit wiser and more humble. Your legacy to us is to enjoy life’s moments big and small, especially with those we love. And for that is the reason we continue to have our Kosi Klassic each year.

Justin, I think about you all the time. I will never stop grieving for you but have hope that one day we will be united and share the beginnings of a new journey together.

Love forever and always
Mom xoxoxox

Susan
8/28/2010 10:09:14 AM66.82.9.99

Dear Secret Squirrel,

This is an addendum to Xavier's post from a few moments ago. A bunch of us flew down to visit Mary and rehash some old times. Mama Ames vomited off the bat at a bar after commenting on how easily Jameson goes down. We partied last night with guest stars Julian and Heather, dancing and picking songs off of Grooveshark. At 3:30am, after probably thoroughly pissing off Mary's husband Patrick, we went back to our Travelodge motel room (which was adjacent to both 'The Beef Inn' and 'The Amigo Spot'). We stayed up super late and as a result Mama Ames has been puking all day and couldn't play. Xavier, Nadine and I went kayaking, and to mix things up we played a game where we tried to tip each other out of our kayaks. That is, until the water patrol people told us to stop. Now we are playing A-hole and made a 1:45 beer run to continue our silliness into the wee hours. You have been a consistent topic of conversation and we miss you terribly.

So much love,
Justin, Todd, Nadine, Xavier, Mary, and Mama Ames (sorta)
Justin Onstine
8/2/2010 2:08:41 AM75.80.165.121

Squirrel!!!!!!!!!!! I love you buddy. I'm at a church house reunion with some of your favorites. Todd, Nadine, Amy , Mary, Justin, and I are partying in San Diego and reminiscing about all the old days! You would have loved it and would have been here. You are very missed and loved buddy.
Xavier
xavier
8/2/2010 1:54:04 AM75.80.165.121

Justin,

I have nothing inspiring to say, but wanted to stop by and tell ya that I miss you very much. Thanks for visiting and reminding the way you do. Much love, my friend.

-Scotty
Scotty
7/24/2010 11:00:54 PM24.4.65.93

We will always miss you and the happiness and confidence you brought to Jodi. She/we will always love you for that. I think you would be happy at how strong Jodi has been, as I'm sure you would want her to be. She has not married, but has a 'life partner' that I'm sure you would approve of. They now have a little girl, Lola June. Jodi is doing well, and I think you would not only approve of her choice, but be happy for her. Justin, you our in our thoughts every day.
Ki m McLaughlin
6/20/2010 10:48:05 PM75.109.143.156

We would like to thank everyone who came to our 6th annual Kosi Klassic celebration. It was great fun for all. The weather was perfect…. sunshine from dawn to dusk. This day was quite an anomaly considering it rained most of our spring season. We had seven families camping on our property. Twenty five teams played “How’s It Hanging”. The playoffs were held once again under lights in our backyard. Nate and Justin O challenged Becky and Jim in a couple of tense games. But the boys hung on and walked away with the much prized belt. Barnyard golf got off to a slow start but a gathering of folks took on the course and the game was on. Craig swung his way into the green jacket as this year’s champion. We ended the evening with a birthday cake that Nate brought for Justin. He would have been 31 years old on June 12th the day of our party. Nate made a special toast. It was heartfelt and very bittersweet.
Justin, happy belated birthday, sweetie! We all miss you so much.

Love,
Sue and Scott
AKA mom and dad

susan
6/20/2010 9:53:25 AM69.19.14.34

que pasa hombre!? I haven't been on here in awhile. I miss you man and was bummed that my graduation from grad school was the same weekend as the annual celebration of your life. Can you believe I made it to grad school and have been teaching 4th grade!? Wish you were here to celebrate. Remember my undergrad party...you were walking around with a megaphone making everyone laugh. You held it up to my mom and shouted, "I like you Kim." Then you held it up and announced, "attention, Karl is a nerd." so many fun memories that I won't ever forget. Thank you so much for your amazing friendship!
peace and much love,
Xavier
Xavier Rubio
6/17/2010 8:26:55 PM98.248.205.201

so i thought i should share this while it's fresh in my noggin.
last night i had a dream that Justin and I were still in school, and somehow he acquired a key to all the vending machines using his squirrely tactics which led to us raiding all the food while classes were in session because he had some sort of hallway immunity and took me along for the ride.
for those who knew him well, you know that this easily could've been a reality knowing his character.
love you buddy and looking forward to celebrating your birthday once again.
-nate
Nate Spivey
6/2/2010 10:50:51 AM98.210.166.47

How awesome is it that this year we get to celebrate Justin's birthday ON his birthday!? looking forward to seeing everyone like always:D

Nate Spivey
5/27/2010 4:35:47 PM98.210.166.47

I've been really thinking about life lately and my purpose adn where I'm headed. I've had a wonderful few years and I've done some things I'm really proud of, but I've been thinking about whether I'm really using all my talents to their fullest and whether I'm really doing what I'm supposed to do. As I think about this, I of course think about Justin. Justin is the person to have on your mind if you are thinking about excellence. Justin opitomized excellence and reaching ones potential. I always admired the way he approached his life. He just made a list of what life was for him, then made a list of the steps to achieve those things, then just did it! He just stepped into life figured out was was important and never looked back. I wish I was able to speak with him more directly these days, because I know he'd help me find my path like he found his, but I draw incredible strength and inspiration from his memory and he is fueling my journey still!

Thank you for your example Justin, I'm doing my best to follow it!

I love you so much
julian
Julian
5/14/2010 8:02:34 PM99.169.83.187

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