A Service of The Arrow             Friday September 29, 2000

   I can see heaven, blue with sorrow for us fragile mortals reflecting off the cold solitude of waters and in our faces, red with mourning. I can see you in the moon at night, brilliant in your distant splendor, and I can’t help but long drown in its reflection. Oh, Justin, how I hate to share you with so many stars! But there are the time when you visit me with your new found peace and comfort me in my quiet despair. You remind me that the stars are merely pinholes of heaven shining through to love us. And after enough seconds have built into minutes and days and years, I’ll remember this day. The day the world became flat and no one had a right to it anymore. The day the whole world went away and you became my guardian angel.

-Melanie Francis (Justin’s sister) ‘00

Senior Justin Francis fatally injured in accident

BRANDI WILLIAMS - Arrow Staff

   This past summer, while working with his father in Seattle, would-be senior Justin Francis was fatally injured.

   As Francis was pulling into the trucking yard where he was working with his father, his truck was struck by another vehicle.

   He was not wearing his seatbelt.

   Justin Francis would have graduated with the class of 2001.

   "He was a great guy and he loved to ski," said senior Jason Finn. "He was never mean to anyone."

   "He’s a good kid, he liked to shoot pool. He was good at hack, too," recalls Justin’s best friend, Chris Keyes. "He had time for everybody, didn’t put anyone off, he was an animal lover, smart, funny, and hardworking. I could go on forever…"

   Francis grew up on a farm in Somers, attended Somers School, Kalispell Junior High School, then Flathead High School. Justin’s greatest achievement was skiing; it was something he could put some pride into. Almost every day when there was no school, Justin could be found up on the slopes of Big Mountain. He also enjoyed riding his motorcycle, working with computers and shooting pool with his friends.

   Without a doubt, Justin valued his family the most. His sister was a close. His mother was busy, but was always there for her family. His dad, who lived in Seattle, would come and visit as often as he could. He got along "unusually" well with his stepfather, and he felt very lucky to have the family he did.

   "Justin loved to ski and ride his motorcycle," recalls Justin’s mom, Bonnie. "He was the perfect son, very good to his family and very sincere with his friendships. He taught me more about honesty and integrity that I could ever teach him."

   His friends remember Justin as a good kid, someone who kept his head up, was nice to everyone and never took anyone or anything for granted.

   "He was a really laid back guy," remembers senior Jesse Beerman. "We just hung out."

   "He was a great friend who was always willing to sacrifice himself to make sure you were happy," said friend Seth Ambrose. "He was just an all around fun guy."

   As Justin wrote in a paper last year for a composition class, he attempted to live life to its fullest potential, and to look on the brighter side of things.

   "’We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars,’ " he wrote. " ‘This is one of my favorite mottos that I remind myself of as often as I can. To me, it says that life is not fair, but by looking at the brighter side of every situation, I can escape the harsh realities and see a new picture of the way that it really can be. It is important to not take things in life for granted and to picture how lucky you are to have the things that you care about. This is a difficult task, seeing that mankind’s nature is to overlook special things, after time, in his or her own life. To avoid doing so, is an achievement.’ "

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