Justin Paul Fernald
January 30, 1978 - July 2, 2021
Justin Paul Fernald passed away on Friday afternoon, July 2, 2021, at the age of 43. He was born on January 30, 1978 and is survived by his parents, Joan C. (Broadbent) Carter of Lakeville and Paul S. Fernald and his wife Barbara Fernald, of Summertown, TN, along with a sister, Kasie Coelho of Acushnet, and his niece and nephews, who he loved dearly, Gianna (9), Jude (7), and Jesse (4). He was a fun and loving son, brother, and uncle. He is also survived by a half-brother, half-sister, several aunts, uncles, cousins, and dear friends.
Justin graduated from Apponequet High School in 1996 where you may have memories of him running cross-country, swimming on swim team, being part of the drama club, playing clarinet in band, or just being a nerd. After high school, he furthered his education at Eckerd College in Florida. Justin was highly intellectual and philosophical, and made his college professors proud as he worked hard to earn his Bachelor’s degrees in Philosophy, Chemistry, and Biology.
Justin had many jobs in his short lifetime, but mostly enjoyed being a server and bartender and had shared numerous fond memories of working at Legal Seafoods in Boston. He was always energetic and friendly, and loved people, especially those that would debate with him! On the other hand, he was also serious about his career and worked as a scientist at GeneWiz, putting his degrees to good use!
Throughout his entire lifetime, Justin had a great passion for music. He played the piano, the clarinet, and sang his heart out, especially to Mariah Carey. His music and his singing could always be heard throughout the house, and possibly even down the street! He never missed a single Mariah concert, no matter how he had to get there!
He was no stranger to public transportation and loved the city life. He would Uber everywhere, which was actually comforting after seeing him behind the wheel! He spent a good amount of time living it up in Tampa, Chicago, Nashville, New York City, and Boston. He then spent the last few years living in Lakeville, where he grew up, and made the best of country living after city life for so long. He decided to take up gardening and built and cared for acres of vegetable gardens and flower beds. He became a connoisseur of nature. He even grew pumpkins each year for his niece and nephews to carve at harvest time and always left out free vegetables for delivery drivers and passers by.
Justin was a kind-hearted, smart, loving man and he was also the life of the party...loud, happy, social, and up for anything. He hopes you will laugh as you remember his sarcasm, crude humor, inappropriate jokes, and opinionated statements, but also keep close at heart the memory of the love, compassion, and generosity that made up his core. He was a free spirit and now he is free.
Calling hours are July 21, 2021 from 4 until 6 p.m. in the O'Neill Funeral Home, 59 Peirce Street (corner of School Street) Middleboro.
A Celebration of Life will follow from 6 until 9 p.m. in the Middleboro Lodge of Elks, 24 High Street, Middleboro.
Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Saint Jude Research Hospital (www.stjude.org) or any charity of your choice. Charity options are available on the funeral home website.
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