Tuesday, May. 13, 2008

Justin’s legacy: Photos, memories and love

Dawn Anderson leafed through a mountain of photos on her kitchen counter, looking for one with her 19-year-old son Justin’s characteristic baseball cap turned backward over his shaggy blond hair.

She settled instead upon pictures from the formal events of his days at Greenville’s J.L. Mann Academy: of Justin with Meredith Yelton at the prom, of Justin with Travis Cale at graduation, and of Justin with Emily and Meredith Yelton, identical-twin friends who until just two weeks ago lived in the Spaulding Farms neighborhood where they had all grown up together.

Her lips trembled slightly as she handed over the precious images of her second son who died Sunday in a house fire at Ocean Isle Beach, N.C.

“He was so sweet with me. He always sent me flowers on my birthday,” said the former first-grade teacher and mother of four. “I have no regrets about his life. I just regret that I’ll never see him again.”

Dawn and Tom Anderson have three sons to comfort them in their loss of Justin: Stephen, 23, a USC journalism graduate; Taylor, 14; and Matthew, 9.

It was the younger ones upon whom Justin lavished much of his love and attention.

“He was so good with his little brothers,” their mother said. “It breaks my heart that he didn’t live to become a father.”

Many of the photos on the Andersons’ kitchen table show him with Meredith Yelton, Emily’s twin sister who dated Justin’s pal Travis Cale. But since entering the University of South Carolina, Justin had been dating Lauren Mahon. He introduced the USC freshman from Greenville to his brother Stephen at the USC-Kentucky football game.

“I know he really liked her,” said Stephen Anderson. “I think he had know her before, but they started dating after she began attending USC.”

Tom Anderson, Justin’s father and a Greenville orthopedic surgeon, said he and his wife had not yet met Lauren, but they had expected to do so soon.

Justin and Travis Cale had been best friends since middle school, Tom Anderson said.

Justin had a close call with danger during the week before he and Lauren went to Ocean Isle Beach. He was changing a tire on her car when the car slipped off the jack and struck him on the shoulder. He had talked to his father about the injury, and Tom scheduled an MRI exam for the following week. The trip back to Greenville also would allow him to see his father on Tom’s birthday, which was coming up on Monday.

Justin was athletic by nature. He played football and soccer in high school. But his brother Stephen said that at 6 feet tall and 165 pounds, Stephen was not big enough for college-level sports. Since entering college, he had participated by attending Gamecock football games as a spectator, as he had since he was a toddler and his father was in USC’s medical school.

“Stephen and Justin learned to read from USC football guides,” said Tom Anderson, whose entire family are avid Gamecock fans. “For Coach Spurrier to talk about Justin meant so much to his little brothers.”

Another passion for Justin was NASCAR racing. He and friends had attended a race at Talledega a few weeks ago, with pit passes, cheering on his favorite driver, Jeff Gordon.

Justin had participated for several summers in the Salkahatchie Summer Mission Service through his membership at St. Matthew United Methodist Church. The program aimed to rehabilitate homes of disadvantaged families.

Academically, Justin was doing well at USC. He had a 3.6 grade point average and was enrolled in the business school. His father said he had struggled with a math course, “but he got help, and made it happen.”

“None of us are geniuses, but we all work hard,” Tom Anderson said of his family.

Given his son’s size disadvantage in football, Anderson said Justin joined the soccer team in his senior year in high school.

“He loved it,” Anderson said. “It was a new set of friends to really get to know. And he won the spirit award that year.”

Reach Hammond at (803) 771-8474.

Get The State newspaper delivered to your home. Click here to subscribe.