September 29, 1979 - January 23, 2017

 Justin Joseph Hesketh, beloved son, husband, brother, nephew, uncle, cousin, and good friend to many, passed away at the young age of 37 on Monday, January 23, 2017, from colon cancer. Justin was born at Downey Community Hospital on September 29, 1979. He grew up in Downey and attended Imperial Elementary School and West Middle School, and then graduated with high honors in the class of 1997 at Warren High School with an impressive GPA of 4.8. Upon graduating, Justin received the Thomas Byrd scholarship to the University of Irvine, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Business Economics in 2002. Justin worked as an accounting intern for a year before enrolling at the University of Southern California Graduate School. He received a Masters Degree in Business from USC in 2006 and was hired by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as an Accountant and Senior Manager. His 11 years with PwC included three years of work at their headquarters in London. Justin also worked for the Capital Group, and was most recently employed as an Associate Vice President CPA for Ares Management.

Justin loved to travel at every opportunity! Along with trips within the US, including New York, Boston, Florida, and Cape Cod, he had extra pages put into his passport to accommodate entry stamps from England, France, Germany, Australia, Greece, Spain, Belgium, Japan, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Canada, Mexico, Turkey, and Korea. He was fluent in Spanish. Justin met his partner, Tom Munden, while in England, and they returned to the U.S. together. They were married in front of family and friends at the Bellagio in Las Vegas on January 2, 2016, and made their home in Century City.

Justin had a lightening quick wit and an amazing sense of humor! He loved tennis, and attended tournaments at Wimbledon, the French Open, the Australian Open, and the U.S. Open. His favorite player was Steffi Graf, and he followed her career for many years. He also loved music, having been exposed to 60’s music by his mother throughout his childhood. He was a long-time fan of Michael Jackson, Elton John, and Celine Dion, and attended several of her concerts in Las Vegas.

Justin was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer on November 13, 2015, and began the first of 22 chemotherapy treatments three days later. He received treatment at UCLA Medical Center, USC Norris Cancer Center, and The City of Hope, where he had surgery on November 15, 2016. Cancer is a daunting, formidable disease, but Justin fought it bravely and relentlessly. After receiving each cancer treatment, he went back to full-time work, and continued his exercise regime of running 4-5 miles regularly. He was a no nonsense person, and two of his favorite sayings were “It is what it is” and “Build a bridge and move on!”

Justin left us way too soon, and he had so much more to offer to the world! All of us who were blessed to have Justin in our lives are extremely lucky. He is survived by his mother and best friend Ruth, his loving husband Tom, sisters Julie Frasso and Jeannie Dunn, uncle Tom Romash, aunts Elizabeth O’Mary and Kathy Romash, and many cousins and countless friends around the world. He was preceded in death by his father, Jack, in 2012. Services for Justin will be private, and a celebration of his incredible life will be held at a later date. Please keep a small piece of your heart open for Justin. Donations in his memory may be made to the Colon Cancer Alliance.

“Don’t be sad it’s over; just be happy it happened.”