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Justin Mark Tesner

Our beloved Justin Mark Tesner, left his Earthly vessel and entered into his Heavenly home on April 11, 2021 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee.

He is proceeded in death by paternal grandparents, his beloved "Pawpaw Charlie" Charles Rhinehart, Clifford Isaiah and Elizabeth Tesner, maternal grandparents Harvey and Lena Goforth and Ruby Holman, special Uncle and Aunt, Max and Reba Cochran, both of whom he thought of and loved as grandparents and many other family members and friends. He is survived by his parents, Mark and Donna Tesner of Shelby, NC, sister and brother-in-law, Amber and Chad Lowery of Mooresboro, NC, niece, Kyndall Thrift of Mooresboro, NC, nephew, Cooper Thrift of Mooresboro, NC, grandmother, Martha Sue Rhinehart of Shelby, NC, dear friend, Courtney Thomas of Green Mountain, NC, many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, including his church family at Clearview Baptist Church.

Memories take us back to how mischievous, rowdy, and funny he was as a boy. He always kept us on our toes, never knowing what his next shenanigan would be. Whether he was building campfires in our living room floor, shaving his head bald for no reason, or taking my car for a joy ride through the neighborhood just to make me mad; there was never a dull moment with him. Growing up, he spent a lot of his days playing sports but grew to love and excel at baseball and wrestling. He was proud to do both for Burns High School. It was also at Burns High School that he was a part of JROTC, which led to his decision to join The United States Air Force. After graduating high school in 2006, he was a proud to be accepted as a member of The United States Air Force and serve as an Aircrew Flight Equipment Journeyman at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma. After his enlistment period was up in 2012, he came home to attend Gardner- Webb University. Although he was accepted into their nursing program, he went to work at Wal-Mart Distribution Center, where he was still employed.

To have known him, was to love him. Even as an adult, there was never a dull moment around him. He had a way of making everyone smile and laugh. He always had something to say and always something to talk with you about. He would go out of his way to help anyone. He always showed up for the people he loved and valued the times together. Recently he had developed a passion for grilling and loved coming up with recipes to try on his Pit Boss smoker. He still had a love for sports and rarely missed watching UNC basketball, Braves baseball or Redskins football.

If you knew him well or had heard his testimony, you knew that he had struggled with alcoholism and addiction in his past but had overcame that lifestyle by turning his life over to Jesus Christ and had just celebrated three years of sobriety. In December of 2018, he accepted the call to preach, which was his proudest and greatest accomplishment in this life. He evangelized at many churches and, also, to many people through his Saturday night devotionals on Facebook and YouTube.

It is hard to imagine a person like my brother, taking his own life. I will never get used to being my parents only living child. I will never stop listening for his loud voice or infectious laugh in a crowd. I will never be able to get passed missing him every Thursday at our family night. Losing someone, like we lost him is devastating. But as I have said, the Devil may have won this battle, but God will win the war. My brother's final moments did not define who he was, and I hope you all remember him for what he was... a brave, intelligent, and faithful man of God. When you find yourself in a place of hopelessness and despair and are tired of fighting life's battles, seek help. Seek refuge from your storm. You deserve to live; your story is not over. We will never stop telling his story We will not let his death be in vain. We will not let his memory die. And I will never stop being my brother's keeper.

The family will receive friends on Monday, April 19, 2021 at Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home & Crematory from 6:00-7:30pm. Funeral service with military honors will be held at 11:00am on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 at Clearview Baptist Church in Grover, NC. In lieu of flowers, the family ask for donations to made in his memory to his church.

Cecil M. Burton Funeral Home and Crematory is serving the family.

Guest Registry is available at www.cecilmburtonfuneralhome.com


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