Justin Harvard Hanks, 29, of Provo, Utah passed away peacefully in his sleep on July 7th, 2018 following a five-year battle with cancer. On June 26th, 1989 he was joyfully welcomed into the loving arms of Darwin Mitchel Hanks and Lynette Ann Goedde Hanks. He married his best friend, Jennifer Michelle Stacey on May 24th, 2013.
They are the parents of beautiful twin boys – Everett Justin Hanks and Marshal Rulon Hanks. Justin loved life and lived it to the fullest. He cared about and loved his siblings.
He loved the outdoors and enjoyed camping, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, snowboarding and being in the mountains. As life became busier he would regularly take walks in the late evening on cold winter nights to think and plan. Justin earned the rank of Eagle Scout, organizing a service project that provided a volunteer-based crossing guard detail for a crosswalk to help children get safely to school and back.
Justin played team sports and started as a defensive end for the Fort Collins Lambkins as the team went undefeated during the regular season and reached the State Championship semifinals in 2006. He loved being part of a team and working with others toward a common goal. At age 19 Justin was called on a full-time mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to serve in Hamburg Germany.
He loved and served the citizens and church members of Germany and taught the Gospel of Jesus Christ. He loved spending time with people and was loved by many. At an early age Justin met Jennifer Michelle Stacey.
His admiration from afar became a loving friendship as they both attended BYU Idaho before their missions and spent time together as part of a larger circle of close friends. As Justin served in Germany, they wrote regularly and their love for each other deepened. After Justin returned their friendship became a romance as they shared their first kiss before Jennifer departed on a mission to Utica, New York.
Finally, after Jennifer’s return and a time of getting reacquainted, they were married in the Denver LDS Temple on May 24th, 2013. A few months after their wedding, Justin was diagnosed with cancer which he bravely fought up until his death. During a period of remission that followed major surgery to remove a tumor, Justin climbed the Grand Teton with friends, an achievement he hoped to repeat.
As cancer returned, Justin and Jennifer did their best to carry on a normal life. Through this time, his loving bride remained faithfully at his side. Justin continued working on his degree in Neuro-Science at BYU and worked full time to help provide for his family.
Justin and Jennifer desired to have a family and on April 10th, 2018 were blessed with the birth of twin boys. Miraculously, in spite of becoming very sick from complications related to cancer shortly before the babies’ birth, Justin was able to coach Jennifer through the birth of the boys. He helped with feedings, changing diapers, cuddling, and snuggling in their first months.
He read to them and interacted with them and did his best to help them with their new lives. He loved his boys and his wife and did all that he could to endure worry, discomfort, and severe pain, in order that he could remain with his wife and “raise his boys”. He overcame many complications through his persistence and endurance, and up until the night before his death planned in great faith on becoming well again.
Justin loved children, especially his nieces and nephews, and they loved him. He was easy to talk to and was a friend to many, including the friendless. His warm smile and great sense of humor naturally lightened any gathering, even when he was very sick.
He recognized his weaknesses and humbly worked to become a man of great faith and goodness. Justin is survived by his wife Jennifer, his sons, his parents, three siblings: Erika (Woody) Layne of Richland Washington, Emily (Tim) Gardner of Provo, Utah, and Matthew Hanks of Fort Collins, Colorado; his in-laws, Rulon and Linda Stacey of Minneapolis, Minnesota and their daughters Laura (Greg) Martin of Parker Colorado, Maria (Nick) Lindsey of New York City, New York, and Catherine (Dillon) Eldridge of Prior Lake, Minnesota; his nieces and nephews Braden, Adelyn, Chase, Brooks and Harvey; his maternal grandparents: Larry and Barbara Goedde of Boise, Idaho; and his paternal grandmother: Joyce Jenkins of Pocatello, Idaho. Funeral services will be held Thursday, July 12th, at noon in the North Park Third Ward building located at 1066 West, 200 North, Provo, Utah.
A viewing for friends and family will be held on Wednesday evening at 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Sundberg Olpin Mortuary located at 495 State St, Orem, Utah, and just prior to the service Thursday morning from 10:00 am to 11:15 am at the Church. Burial will be in the East Lawn Memorial Hills Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Everett and Marshal’s college education fund.
Details will be avaliable soon. More of Justin and Jennifer’s story can be found on Jennifer’s blog, TwoAgainstOneBlog. wordpress.com Condolences can be sent to the family on this page.
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