Justin Garvin had a gift that seemed to contradict itself.
Growing up with ADHD and a learning disability that affected his writing, Justin had to learn techniques that would help him slow down and pause before reacting.
Those years spent managing his own challenges gave Justin a quiet sensitivity to other people’s pain, helping him notice what someone might be going through, said his mother, Christine Garvin.
“Justin was the kind of person who couldn’t read a room, but could tell when somebody was having a hard time,” she said. “He always geared on the underdog, and he was always the one to make sure everyone was included.”
On the morning of May 15, Justin, 22, climbed into his vehicle and headed to work as a punch press operator at a company in Massachusetts, taking the same familiar route he always did. He headed south on Route 28 on his way to the highway.
Just after 6 a.m., a paving truck broke down on the side of the road. A pickup truck slowed for oncoming traffic when Garvin struck it from behind, leading to the three-vehicle collision near the intersection with North Pembroke that claimed his life.
Back at home in Epsom that morning when police officers knocked on the door, Christine Garvin knew it was about Justin.
Her husband had arrived safely at work, and her three other children were with her.
Her second youngest child was gone.
Christine said what she was going to miss most about Justin was the crazy things he did, and that he was a real-life “Dennis the Menace.”
“I’m going to miss just hanging out with him,” she said. “You never knew what he was going to do.”
‘Always there’
Last week, at Justin’s celebration of life, it was his parents’ turn to read the room.
Christine and Christopher Garvin sat at the front of a funeral home as a line of people wound past their son’s photograph and made their way, one by one, to where they were seated. Some faces they recognized — neighbors, old friends, familiar names from years ago. Many faces they didn’t.
To the parents, that said everything.
“He affected so many more people than we knew,” said Christine. “He was one of those people who would just quietly help people in the background and he wasn’t one to brag about it. He would just do it, and that’s how it should be done.”
One woman at the funeral told his parents that she struggled with social anxiety, and that Justin had noticed when she felt overwhelmed and quietly stepped in to help.
For his sister, Kyra Garvin, that quality defined him. Justin had always been there for her, she said, understanding her in ways others couldn’t. He was a devoted uncle to her daughter, Theodosia, leaving a mark on everyone he loved.
“He was truly the biggest nerd I’ve ever known,” she said.
Justin graduated from Pittsfield Middle High School in 2022 and like many people his age, he was building toward the future one step at a time.
The weekend of the accident, he had plans to get his first tattoo with his best friend, who was making the trip up from Massachusetts. He had also been saving for a new car.
Justin enjoyed playing “Magic: The Gathering,” a collectible card game, and he even crafted some of the game’s symbols at work to give as gifts — one to his brother Joshua and one to his best friend.
The handmade metal signs were displayed near his photograph at the funeral home.
Christopher said his son had a remarkable way of making people feel included. One of the biggest lessons he learned from Justin was simple but powerful:
“If you want something, go after it. Do whatever it takes.”
As immeasurable as the loss has been, the Garvins have made a deliberate choice about how to grieve.
“We’ve chosen to celebrate the life he had, and the chaos he brought to our lives,” Christine said.
