Helping the Late Justin Hjulstrom's Family

Justin Allan Hjulstrom, aged 40 years old, passed away peacefully on February 17th, 2025 at his home after a 6-year battle with ALS. He was born on August 15th, 1984 in Manchester, Connecticut to his loving parents Dee (Hotchkiss) and Ken Hjulstrom. Though they lived in Manchester for just a few years, Justin truly considered the town he grew up in, Marlborough Connecticut, as his hometown, with his family having moved there in 1986. Justin attended Marlborough’s Elmer Thienes-Mary Hall Elementary School and later graduated from RHAM High School in 2003. Upon graduation, Justin joined the Connecticut Army National Guard in response to the September 11th attacks, stating that after seeing the terrorists attack our country, he decided he didn’t just want to join the army, he HAD to do so. He went to basic training in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri and chose the Military Police division, eventually becoming a member of the Army Reserve B Company, 787th Military Police Battalion. He served in Germany with the 643rd Military Police Company on Operation Enduring Freedom from February 2006 to July 2007. Shortly after marrying his beloved Jenn on January 24, 2009, Justin was called to duty once again and was deployed to Iraq from June 2009 to June 2010 for Operation Iraqi Freedom. After finishing his tours, he became a Connecticut Correctional Officer in 2010, serving at Connecticut’s Carl Robinson Correctional Institution. His upbeat and out of the box thinking left a memorable impression on his co-workers, who were invaluable in helping him as the symptoms of ALS started to appear in 2018. Reluctantly, Justin had to apply for early medical retirement from the job with the Department of Corrections, which he so loved.

Once he became aware of the struggles facing him, he and his family decided to move to his dream home in Arizona, where he lived out his life to the fullest with sunny days and sandy places to offroad (whether in a wheelchair or 4 wheels). He is survived by his amazing wife of 16 years Jenn (Johnston) and his two beloved children, Mia (10) and Jaxon (5), his parents Dee and Ken Hjulstrom, his sister Jessica and her husband Theodore Savitski, his parents in law, Linda and Rick Johnston as well as numerous friends and family members whose lives he touched throughout his all too short 40 years.

Though ALS is a devastating disease for both the person going through it and family and friends, Justin never complained. He was able to lift the spirits of everyone around him. He fought the good fight, as he had done all his life, with humor and an indomitable spirit. Though his life was shorter than it should have been, he lived it more fully than most. The best way to sum up Justin is by passing along some of his own words and advice to others battling this disease. When asked how to cope with ALS, he stated:

“The way I think about it, the fact we lived at all is a gift. You could have never existed, but you did…every day till we die holds the potential to still show you great things, you just have to figure out what. I could sit back and say “Woe is me” or I could appreciate that I had 37 great years and two really not great years, which is more than some people get…To be blunt, in the end, it won’t matter if you were happy or sad. The train reaches the end of the line for every single living thing, and you’re getting off, like it or not. You and I just get the blessing of knowing we’re on a truncated time table. And yes, it is a blessing. We get to tell those we love how we really feel about them. We get to say the things that need to be said before we go. We get that opportunity. Most people don’t…Ultimately, you decide your own outlook on your life….I want to use every day I have been gifted for enjoyment. The choice is yours.”

Family and friends are invited to attend a service in his memory at the River of Life Lutheran Church, 725 Estrella Parkway, #120, Goodyear AZ, on February 24th, 2025 at 10:00 AM. A celebration of his life will be held in Connecticut at a date to be determined so that all of his family and friends can share their love and memories of this truly memorable man.