Justin Ervin Lloyd was born Friday, April 9, 1976 in Owen Sound to Delores Evelyn Marie (Chittick) and Alan Ervin Gateman. He was eighteen months younger than his brother Jason Alan, or “Jake” as Justin often referred to him. The boys grew up in Sullivan Township and attended Sullivan Public School and Chesley District High School.
Justin was a very talented young man, artistically, musically and physically. As a child, he loved to play baseball in Desboro and take piano lessons, enjoying playing his favourite song “The Rose” by Bette Midler. From a very young age, Justin was incredibly dedicated and passionate when it came to martial arts. He trained in Chito-Ryu Karate for the majority of his life and was one of the select few to receive the honour of a 2nd degree black belt. Justin’s strength and speed were 2nd to none in this regard.
After graduating high school, Justin attended the prestigious Complections College of Makeup Art & Design in Toronto, heralded world-wide as the top destination for students hoping to break into Toronto’s film industry (Hollywood North). Justin excelled in his studies of Special Effects Prothethics and Beauty/Fashion Makeup for film and TV. Justin’s dedicated work ethic, creativity and sense of humour earned the respect and admiration of all of the instructors. Justin received near perfect marks in all of his courses and set the bar for the other students to match.
Once done school, Justin continued to live and work in Toronto and broke into the burgeoning Film and TV industry while it was at it’s peak. That was no small feat in the competitive and fast paced entertainment industry of the time. High expectations and tight deadlines were the norm and Justin handled both measures with a professionalism that not many could maintain. During 36 hour sleepless shifts, in less than ideal and chaotic conditions, Justin would be the one to hold the on-set team together and keep them in high spirits with his glowing personality, charisma and ridiculous sense of humour and antics. The end result always being what was expected or more. Justin single handedly earned the praise and respect of top industry professionals and production companies for simply being him….a young man who was living his dream, realized through countless hours of hard work….not taking any of it for granted. You can’t easily list all the celebrities that Justin had met and worked with, nor can you easily list all the films or TV shows he worked on. He knew and worked with John Candy, Alanis Morisette, Weird Al, 50 Cent, Chris Martin and The Tea Party to name a few. He worked on the sets of Resident Evil, Urban Legends, Earth Final Conflict, Canadian Idol and many more. His personality and eagerness to help in any way also landed him in front of the camera in some of the productions when an extra was needed. Look for him in a party scene in Urban Legend in the center of the scene between the lead actors and later on in the corner of a dark stair well. When Justin wasn’t working long hours on-set doing prosthetics and makeup, he was at home working on the very same thing in his spare time. There was no separation between work or passion. A true goal that very few people can say they’ve achieved….the ability to work at what they love and love what they work at.
As work began to slow down in the film and TV industry in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, Justin began to work in the fashion makeup industry for top level makeup chains including Sephora, a French chain of cosmetics stores featuring nearly 300 brands, along with its own private label. MAC, a cosmetics manufacturer founded in Toronto, headquartered in New York City and a part of the Estée Lauder Companies as of 1998, and Carol Baker Visage. As if this wasn’t prestigious enough, Justin also taught at his alma mater Complections as well as SOMA (The School of Makeup Art), yet another top teaching school well known for instruction in fashion makeup, and special effects prosthetics. Justin loved to be able to teach, inspire and guide students, sharing his extensive experience and stories.
However, it was as a family member that Justin had the greatest role. He and his brother Jake were very close, almost inseparable. And, of course, his role as son to Dolly and Bob was outstanding. No mother could love a son more. Justin loved being at home on the farm, and could often be found heading out in the bush for a walk. Justin has a son Jordan whom he loved a great deal. Jordan always held an incredibly special place in Justin’s heart and the time they spent together was cherished beyond all else. And who could forget the important role of “favourite uncle,” that Justin played. Lucas and Ryleigh loved spending time with Uncle Justin when he would come home for a visit from the big city.
Being just a little devilish, Justin loved April Fool’s Day and Halloween. Both served as opportunities to dress up and even pull pranks. The Halloween season was the busiest time of year for Justin as he was often contracted months ahead of time by people who wanted elaborate masks and makeup that only Justin could provide. The end results of these projects were simply astounding.
Justin loved listening to music and participating in the music scene, especially with the Canadian rock band, The Tea Party. Justin idolized the band and was able to meet and work with them on many occasions, becoming personal friends with them and following them around to many, many performances.
Animals were one of the biggest part of Justin’s life right from the beginning. His love for his dogs Pal and Pickles was unending, as was the love for his favourite cat, “Gage,” named after the main character in “Pet Sematary”……..evidence that his love of horror movies (or infatuation with horror movies, rather…) extended past his makeup career.
If one was looking for words to best describe Justin, “goof ball’ would be one (or two). Compassionate, adventurous, impulsive, creative and talented would definitely be others. Justin’s sole purpose in life was to make people laugh. Ridiculous and uninhibited, Justin was always the hit of the party and it was impossible not to laugh at him or with him. It didn’t matter to Justin which way you were laughing, just as long as you were. There are too many stories to share and all are as ridiculous as “the coffee table stair tobogganing”, “bananas on the head for New Year’s 2000 (ask Jake)” and the “accidental shed fireworks fire (who knew gas and lit fireworks didn’t go well together?)”. There isn’t a single person that met and interacted with Justin that didn’t come away from that meeting without a story worthy of re-telling.
In 2004 Justin’s life took an unexpected turn and the true unfairness of life made itself evident. While trying to do a good deed on a late night, on a Toronto street, Justin suffered an assault that left him with a severe brain injury. The neurosurgeon that saved Justin’s life referred to Justin as a miracle case. His near full recovery was met with complete wonderment as Justin was not expected to be able to walk, talk or care for himself, based on the extent of his injuries. For 13 weeks Justin’s family kept vigil by his hospital bedside, helping Justin bear the burden of a painful and long recovery process that never truly finished. Developing scar tissue in his brain continued to grow and caused severe seizures and cognitive difficulties. Nevertheless, Justin was always able to stand up throughout this and smile and not give up on himself or his dreams. He persevered and kept moving forward, keeping his dreams alive by working on his own projects that gained the awe and admiration of all those that saw them. On his Model Mayhem profile is written by Justin….. “Just listen to me……dreams come true if you believe and work hard, if you do just those two energies……BELIEVE AND WORK HARD……..you’ll see it and experience DREAMS…….Justin Gateman.”
Justin’s love for his family and friends goes unmatched. If he had nothing, Justin would still give you the proverbial shirt off his back if he knew it would ease your load. His unwavering strength, solidity, creativity and love, emanated to the corners of everyone’s soul that he touched. Justin loved his mother beyond all else and shared a bond with her that cannot be described or broken.
It is with great sadness and shock that Justin passed away suddenly on Friday, April 14, 2017 in his 42nd year. Beloved son of Delores Gateman and Bob Boddy. Cherished brother of Jason and his wife Robyn Wilson of R.R. #1 Desboro, Andrew Boddy of Southampton, Daniel Boddy and Bethany-Ann Boddy, both of Owen Sound. Favourite uncle of Lucas Wilson and Ryleigh Cooper. Justin will be missed by his grandmother Evelyn Chittick of R.R. #3 Hanover and the entire Gateman and Chittick families. Loving father of Jordan Luff of Toronto. He was predeceased by his father Alan Gateman.
Visitation will be held at Rhody Family Funeral Home, Chesley on Thursday from 2 – 4 and 7 – 9 p.m. where a funeral service honouring Justin’s life will be held on Friday, April 21, 2017 at 11 a.m. Interment in Chesley Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations to Epilepsy Toronto, an organization that supported him greatly, or Chesley Hospital Foundation would be appreciated as expressions of sympathy.
