Eugene Carlton Justice

Eugene Carlton Justice, age 69, of Dallas passed away June 11, 2016. A Memorial Service will be held at 3pm on Wednesday, June 15, 2016 at Hollydale United Methodist Church in Marietta. Burial will follow at a later date at Rose Hill Cemetery in Rockmart.

Eugene Carlton Justice was born in Rome GA September 22, 1946. He loved his
family with his whole heart. It never took much to make him happy. Simple activities
such as fishing and attending flea markets were some of his favorite things to do. Over
the years, he never met a stranger and was always quick to lend a hand however he could.
He loved to make people smile, whether that was by playing peek-a-boo with a near by
baby or sharing a hug, kind word or wink. Even after he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s
in 2007, that love and compassion never wavered; if anything it expanded.

He earned the nickname “Candy Man” because everywhere he went, he carried a
pocketful of old fashioned soft mints. The hard kind just weren’t good enough! He would
give anyone he came in contact with a mint, and sometimes two or three because he
would forget they had already been offered one. He didn’t like for you to refuse his mints,
so he gave you plenty of chances to change your mind.

He also developed a passion for going through pennies and saving out the older pennies
that were pure copper. He found great pleasure in finding people their birthday penny.
From our favorite tellers at the bank, to our wonderful church friends and his own family,
each person got their very own birthday penny.

Gene had a love for the birds and squirrels. The many feeders in our yard were often
filled with birdfeed and corn and he would spend hours a day rocking in his rocking chair
on our porch and watching the birds and squirrels.

In 2016 he became known as “Famous Gene”. What started out as a random Facebook
Photo of a “Blessing Bag” and nice idea became a huge success and a new passion and
way of life. This idea would later be the driving theme behind #MissionDawgs. Gene was
part of a group of people who gather every week and go out to touch the lives of the men
and women who live and sleep on the streets of Atlanta and Marietta. Some of these folks
saw Gene on a regular basis and knew him by name. These same people prayed for him
by name while he was in the hospital.

Gene is preceded in death by his parents Lloyd and Arnice Justice, sister, Rosa Lee
Pierce, Brother in law, Eddie Pierce, Son Kenny Justice. He is survived by his wife Mary
Elizabeth Justice, daughter and son-in-law Beth and Carey Sauerbrun, Daughter-in-law,
Debbie Justice Osborne, 5 grandchildren (Seth, Brittany, Gabe, Ainsley and Eli) and 4
great grandchildren.