Justin Paul Reynolds

September 8, 1988 – January 25, 2023

Internment & Grave Dedication: Saturday, September 21, 2024, Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.

10:45am: Car line-up at Lake Avenue entrance, 2461 Lake Ave, Rochester NY 14612, service to commence at 11AM.

Justin Paul Reynolds, 34, passed away January 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California where he resided with his cherished pug dog, Mr. Grumbles.

Born: September 8, 1988 in Brockport, New York.

Pre-deceased by: his Half-Sister: Jennifer (Reynolds) Ellis Knight, and his Uncle Michael Tosti.

He is survived by his Parents: Marianne [Tosti] Tress, A. Paul Reynolds, and Step Father: Tab Alan Tress; Step Mother: Diana Reynolds-Diaz; Half-Sisters: Jill Reynolds-Franke (David) and Ailena Reynolds-Diaz; Half Brothers: Cristian Reynolds-Diaz and Ivan Reynolds-Diaz; Step Sisters: Audrey [Tress] Van Lare (Andrew) and Sarah [Tress] Pingrey (Andrew); Uncles: Richard Tosti, Thomas Tosti and Phillip Gauldin; Aunt: Jeanie [Tosti] Gauldin; niece: Stella Rose Franke; nephews Zachary Ellis and Nicholas Ellis; many other relatives, cousins & dear friends.

A private family viewing was held on February 11, 2023 at Miller Funeral Home in Rochester, NY. Two Celebration of Life memorial services were subsequently held: one in Lehi, Utah on July 7, 2023 with several of Justin’s childhood friends who now reside there; the other in Rochester, NY on August 5, 2023 with many family and friends. The internment is on Saturday, September 21, 2024 at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery with a short ceremony at 11:00am.

Justin was raised as a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints where he participated in worship, gospel lessons, and various activities with family and friends.  He very much enjoyed the Boy Scouts of America program sponsored by the church where he attained the Cub Scout Arrow of Light award and aspired to become an Eagle Scout. He holds the record for completing the most badges, 12, at a 2-week stay at scout camp for Troop 267, breaking the previous record of 11 badges attained at scout camp.

Growing up, Justin attended grade school at the Greece English Rd Elementary and Lakeshore schools.  He subsequently attended Greece Arcadia Middle School, Greece Olympia High School, and Rush-Henrietta Senior High School from which he graduated in 2007 with a Regent’s diploma.  Justin took Karate and also played soccer which was coached by his father who also taught him golf.  He took piano lessons at the studios of Mary Ann Bruce to age 14 and tap dance lessons at Marilyn Schneider Dance Studio.  He enjoyed in-line skating, skateboarding, skiing, and video gaming.

Among his many talents, he had a beautiful singing voice, and in 6^th grade performed the lead role of Conrad Birdie in the musical production “Bye, Bye, Birdie” at Greece Arcadia Middle School.  Previously, he actually made his stage debut at the age of 6 months as a baby in a production of “Hello Dolly”, then again at age five in “The Music Man”.  Together with his mother and stepfather, Justin was a cast member at age 13 in the 2002 production of the Hill Cumorah Pageant, the largest outdoor theatrical production in North America at the time.

Justin also had a talent for music and art.  One of his art pieces, a self-portrait, was chosen for a district wide school art exhibit in the 9th grade. He started a high school rock band in which he composed and performed original music, created a logo for the band and made silk-screened T-shirts that were sold at the band’s performances.  He also designed the cover for the band’s CD which was sold to attendees.  He was also talented in creative writing. His college professor praised his writing as being above those taking his more advanced classes.

Justin enjoyed skiing and snowboarding with hair raising challenges to keep his interest.  If there wasn’t a wipeout or two, there wasn’t fun. But much to his disappointment, on the advice of his neurosurgeon, he had to stop snowboarding and skateboarding due to a degenerative disc in his back discovered in his Senior year of high school.

Justin realigned his path as he headed towards college to learn marketing.  He did well and graduated in 2011 from State University of New York at Geneseo with a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration.  He subsequently pursued employment in various marketing arenas attaining jobs he would love and excel in.  He was hired by Hallmark Data Systems in Chicago, Illinois, an online publishing company.  But he had a strong desire to work in the video gaming industry in California where he landed a job at 505 Games as an influencer in Los Angeles.  He then moved on to his “dream job” at Activision in LA, the largest online gaming company in the world, where he worked promoting a game called Destiny and later a game called Call of Duty, their big moneymaker.  Many young gamers have had a dream of working for Activision. In this job he was able to travel worldwide to host launches of new versions of the games and “hob-nob” with champion gaming celebrities.  He was living his dream.  However, after a corporate restructuring, everyone was laid off in his division – except for Justin.  Although the company recognized his skills, the job became less exciting and he became concerned for his future.  He moved into a job for Improbable, Inc., a UK based company, where his job was web based allowing him to stay in California.

As an adult Justin continued to participate in adventurous activities such as escape rooms, hiking, bungee jumping, parachuting, biplane wing walking, and even winning a ‘Hot Wing Eating Contest’ at his place of employment. He was also a dedicated health and physical fitness enthusiast keeping his body in top physical shape and practicing good nutrition.

Justin loved, enjoyed, and composed music, often attending various music festivals. He became a skilled DJ on the side.  He was well liked by his musical associates and had many followers on his music site, ‘CAVIAT’ (https://soundcloud.com/caviatmusic/ct1).

Justin is deeply missed by his family, many friends, and associates.  He was someone that people wanted to be around.  He had a caring and engaging personality that drew others in with his infectious laugh and clever sense of humor.  He was a person that truly cared about others and would help when the need arose.  He loved his dog Mr. Grumbles, a pug breed.  Justin is dearly loved by friends, by family, and by our Father in Heaven and our Savior, Jesus Christ.

We are saddened to lose this beautiful human being at a relatively young age.  But we are comforted knowing that Justin is at peace with our loving Savior, Jesus Christ, and in the arms of grandparents he never knew in mortality and other family who have gone before him.  He brought us much joy, and we look forward to being together in eternity.