Justin Thompson

Every day, a shattered family posts an obituary for a loved one lost to a drug overdose. Today it’s Justin M. Thompson’s family in Moses Lake, Washington. Justin was 11 days shy of his 32nd birthday and was “caught up in the drug epidemic and perished from an accidental overdose.” In choosing to disclose Justin’s cause of death, the Bersanti and Thompson family helps humanize the opioid epidemic. And putting a human face on things changes hearts and minds in powerful ways.

Heroin, meth or fentanyl didn’t love Justin, it controlled him; it owned him. It skewed his reality and numbed his heart. It mocked his every attempt to be free, reeling him in like a fish, hooked by the hollow point of a disposable needle. Our family asks that you realize that no one is immune to the epidemic of opioid and heroin addiction that encumbers our culture.

“Heroin told him, 'I can make you feel accepted, I can make you feel all right, I can make you feel worthy, I can make you feel normal, I make you feel loved, and I can make you feel nothing and make you feel like everything will be okay.' What it didn't tell him was how it would devastate his family and tear it apart, leave him without a job and penniless, take his home and make him homeless. How it would take his sparkle and smile, how it would take his humor and how it would take and take and take until it took his life."

On Saturday, Oct. 7, 2022, Justin M Thompson, passed away 11 days shy of his 32nd birthday, in Seattle, Washington.

Justin is survived by his parents Kandi and Bob Bersanti; father Matt Thompson; grandparents Phillip and Carol Keith; siblings Hunter (Cara) Bersanti, Liam Thompson and Evelyn (Erick) Valenzuela and several aunts, uncles, cousins, a niece and a nephew. He was preceded in death by his grandfather Patrick Thompson.

No service is scheduled at this time. This obituary is a sobering reminder of the fate that awaits those caught up in the grips of addiction, but there is a better way of life available to those who seek it. Addiction treatment can be the first steps on a new journey away from those “bitter ends,” and calling one today can make the difference in truly living life or planning for a near-certain demise that will leave family members and loved ones facing a soul-crushing dilemma. If you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, please reach out to the National Substance Abuse Hotline at 1-800-662-4357.