8/6/1985 – 12/28/2024
Lawrence
In Loving Memory of Justin Charles Strickland
My precious husband, Justin Charles Strickland of Lawrence, Kansas, left this earth and moved to his Heavenly home on Saturday, December 28, 2024. Justin was a cherished husband, devoted father, loyal son, uncle, brother, and friend, and faithful Christian. Born on Tuesday, August 6, 1985, Justin lived a life marked by empathy and compassion for others, quick generosity, deep humility, hard work, and genuine kindness.
Justin was born in McPherson, Kansas, to loving parents, Patricia Ann (Urbanek) Strickland and Charles Earl Strickland. He was a bright, curious, adventurous, and loving child, always eager to learn, explore, and push the boundaries of the world around him. Justin loved drawing and painting throughout his youth. As a third grader at Saint Joseph Catholic School, he was awarded a first place honor on his woodduck drawing in the 1995 Federal Junior Duck Stamp Contest, an honor he repeated several years in a row. His daughter, Adelaide, carries on Justin’s artistic talent, and has kept several of her daddy’s drawings and paintings from his youth. Justin spent much of his adolescence riding and racing BMX bicycles, doing back flips and dreaming of going pro. He graduated from McPherson High School in 2004 and moved to Lawrence, Kansas, where he called home until his passing.
While Justin continued to ride BMX recreationally throughout his life, he built his distinguished career as an expert tree trimmer in the arboriculture field, where he was known for his dedication to safety, integrity with customers, and excellence in both the art and skill of beautifying trees. Justin never met a tree he deemed too difficult to climb, trim, remove, or fell, and he always welcomed a new challenge. He especially enjoyed riding a crane with a chainsaw hanging from his hip during a crane removal. Justin started his career in arboriculture at Asplundh Tree Expert Company, where he would meet lifelong colleagues and friends. Over his career, he worked for Hendrickson Tree Care Company, The City of Lawrence, Mulford’s Tree Service, JCB Tree Service LLC, and Tidd Tree. For the last several years, Justin greatly enjoyed being a contract climber with some of his most respected colleagues and friends at Triton Tree and Turf Inc., Flaherty Lawn & Tree Service, LLC, and most of all, DM Tree, where Justin got to spend long hours with the owner, his closet arborist friend, Shammah. His achievements were many, but he was most proud of his ability to skillfully address the most dangerous trees with the utmost safety.
In 2014, Justin married the love of his life, Tiffany Marie (Miller) Strickland, and together they built a beautiful family. He was a devoted father to 8-year-old daughter, Adelaide Mae, and 4-year-old son, August Christian, instilling in them the same values of a love for Jesus, respect for others, adventure, creativity, and hard work that he lived by. He was never more comfortable and joyful than when playing “rough tough” wrestling at home with his kids, getting outdoors with his wife and kids exploring nature, or going on family vacations to his favorite destination, the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, or visiting family near Florida beaches. His family was the center of his world, and he cherished every moment spent with them.
Justin was a man of many unique talents and interests. He enjoyed going on bike rides on his BMX bike with his wife and kids and grinding a handrail or two. He found relaxation and peace in spinning fire poi in the backyard and would awe his friends, family, and onlookers with his artistry and skill during a 4th of July celebration, his annual trip to the lake house with his extended family, or one year, performing at the Renaissance Festival in Kansas City. During the annual lake house vacations, Justin also greatly enjoyed riding jet skis, taking out the kayaks, water skiing and tubing, and of course, fishing. Justin was an avid fisherman and always sought to catch the biggest catfish in the river. After kids were in bed, Justin spent many hours and long nights with his best friend Bob near the banks of Clinton Lake, or the Wakarusa or Kansas Rivers. His wife and kids got excited when Justin and Bob caught fish and were successful at morel mushroom hunting. Justin fried it all up and the kids ate it all up! Justin enjoyed cooking and was the designated chef of the Strickland household. He had that special skill of being able to take a recipe and improve upon it to his and his family’s liking. Of all his hobbies though, his passion was in learning about and producing vape mods for a vast and varied online community, with colleagues, friends, and customers both nationally and internationally. When he took an interest in something, he wanted to know everything about it and try to be the best. When making mods under his moniker, Billiken Mod Co, Justin could be found soldering boards, wires and 510s, engraving metal panels or cutting acrylic panels on his laser engraver, 3D-printing board holders, pouring resin panels, polishing stab wood panels or enclosures, spinning coils, or mixing his own e-liquid. His colleagues and customers raved about the integrity of Justin’s work, but will remember most his kindness, as evident in the hand-written Post-it notes he included with every order and his willingness to share his knowledge to help other mod builders.
Justin deeply believed in giving back to communities that offered so much love, wisdom, and encouragement to him. He spent many years actively involved in the recovery community, both attending and chairing meetings, participating in functions, and providing encouragement to fellow members. Many of Justin’s closest friendships were forged through the bond of recovery. Most recently, Justin could often be found serving on a team with his fellow brothers and sisters in Christ or participating in services and events at his beloved church, Velocity Church in Lawrence, Kansas. Lead pastor, Justin Jenkins, baptized both Justin and Tiffany while they were dating, facilitated their pre-marital counseling, officiated their wedding, and will officiate Justin’s memorial service. Justin served on the operations team for several years, helping set up and take down for Sunday morning services when Velocity Church met at The Lawrence Arts Center until they moved into their own building. Then Justin served as a greeter, usher, and most recently, as a leader for the middle school and high school youth. Justin was a member of the Velocity men’s small group, Rad Dads, and he and Tiffany completed the Leadership Essentials course this past summer 2024. Justin was a confidant, support, and friend to many, always willing to lend a helping hand or offer a word of support or wisdom. His warmth, generosity, and ability to be vulnerably honest endeared him to all who knew him, along with his sense of humor. Justin’s humor was often dry, but his impeccable timing and wit tailored to his audience created bountiful laughter in many circles.
Justin leaves behind a legacy of loyal friendship, quick forgiveness, intellectual curiosity, deep love, genuine kindness, and integrity and excellence in hard work. He touched the lives of many from so many different walks of life, and his memory will live on in the hearts of those who had the privilege of knowing him. He is survived by his beloved wife, Tiffany Strickland and their children, Adelaide and August. Following Justin’s passing, Tiffany and the children relocated from Lawrence, Kansas, to Valley Center, Kansas. Tiffany and Justin had decided in the Fall of 2024 to make this move, originally planned for the Summer of 2025, to be closer to their extended families. Justin is also survived by his mother, Patricia (Urbanek) Strickland, his sister Sarah (Strickland) Mills and brother-in-law Zach Mills, and three nephews, Jaiden, Ebbett, and Crosley, all of McPherson, Kansas; father-in-law Gary Miller and mother-in-law Cindy (Bahr) Miller, sister-in-law Audrie (Miller) Primm and brother-in-law Josh Primm, nephew Collin and niece Emma all of Wichita, Kansas; sister-in-law Kylee (Miller) Montalvo and brother-in-law Jonathan Montalvo, nephews Kolson and Gabriel and niece Brooklyn of Valley Center, Kansas; as well as many dear aunts, uncles, cousins, and extended family members. Justin is preceded in death by his father, Charles Strickland, and maternal and paternal grandparents.
A memorial service to celebrate Justin’s life will be held on Saturday, March 1, 2025 at 1:00 pm at Velocity Church in Lawrence, Kansas. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made towards education funds for Justin’s two young children, to be established by his wife, Tiffany Strickland. The family welcomes all who wish to share their memories and messages of condolence. Please feel free to leave a message via Facebook or send cards to Tiffany, Adelaide, and August Strickland.
Though he is no longer with us here on earth, may Justin’s spirit continue to guide and inspire us all. We find solace in the many beautiful memories we shared and the impact he had on our lives, and most of all, in our living hope of Jesus Christ, that through Him, we say not “goodbye” to Justin, but “until we meet again” one day in Heaven.
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