Justin David Abel was born Nov. 24, 1984, at Keller Army Community Hospital at West Point, New York, to Shannon (Eckard) and Jamie Abel. He was named Justin after a boy for whom Shannon used to babysit, Justin Coffman, back in Toronto, Ohio. The name David honored Jamie's best man, David Graham, as well as Jamie's great grandfather, David Elias Abel.
Justin's grandparents on his mother's side are James and Mary (Johnson) Eckard of Toronto, Ohio, and his grandparents on his father's side are Nancy (McCollum) and Marshall Conway of Decatur, Illinois, and the late Patricia (Fink) and Ronald Abel of Oreana, Illinois. Justin was the oldest child of his generation on either side of the Abel-Eckard family, where he eventually played pied-piper to a sister and seven cousins.
In 1987, Justin and his family moved to Tiffin, Ohio, where his sister, Stephanie Leigh Abel, was born. Justin attended Lincoln Elementary and Tiffin Middle Schools, enjoying his 'extra' projects in the gifted and talented programs there. He was a voracious reader who collected Goosebumps, Spooky Ohio and other mystery books, and he loved learning about history and science. When the family moved to a home near Republic, Ohio, in 1996, he attended Seneca East Junior High and High Schools. There, he competed in track and wrestling, played percussion in band, and sang in concert choir and show choir.
On November 20, 2000, Justin and his friend, Krista Lynette McClish, were headed into Tiffin on an errand. The car crashed along Seneca County Road 36, next to Greenlawn Cemetery and took both lives. Our thanks to all the family, friends and classmates who helped the families cope after this enormous loss, especially to Bill and Norma Goodwin and Tim and Rachel Pollock.
