Glen Robert Justice

Glen Robert Justice, a cancer specialist and father of two who spent more than 50 years practicing medicine all over the world, died shortly before the Thanksgiving holiday. He was 79.

Justice, who was raised on the east coast, spent more than four decades in private practice in his adopted home of Orange County, California, where he was active in the medical community.

Justice was instrumental in building several major cancer treatment facilities; participated in medical missions to Haiti, Ukraine, Sri Lanka and other areas of need; spent years working at a free clinic; and held teaching positions at both USC and UCLA.

At his practice, he treated thousands of cancer patients over the years and developed a reputation as a thoughtful and caring physician who drew patients from all over the country.

In one case that caught the attention of the The Orange County Register, Justice cured a woman of five separate cancers over a dozen years.

“Glen was an extraordinary doctor,” said John Livingston, a longtime friend and patient. “The people in his care were truly at the center of his world and he treated his friends the same way. He was a kind and generous man. We miss him greatly.”

John Justice, Justice’s son, said that it was common for the doctor to give out his mobile number, inviting patients to contact him if they had questions. His days were often peppered with calls from patients needing medication, consultation or counsel.

“Dad took calls at all hours,” he said. “It was common to have some patients at the table for Thanksgiving dinner or around Christmas. He did not want them to be alone. He cared about people in a way that is very rare today.”

He also had fun doing it. Friends and relatives remember a gregarious man, with his long white beard and trademark sweater vest, who loved to tease and joke and live life loudly.

“I close my eyes and I can see him bounding into the surf, letting out a warrior cry as he takes his final step and dives into a wave,” said Tom O’Hara, his brother-in-law. “I remember thinking ‘so this is how it’s done’ when he removed his shirt in the middle of a crowded store at Christmas to put on the new velour shirt he just bought. And, of course, his eating roasted peanuts shell and all. He lived life with a gusto few can match.”

Justice was born in Kentucky and raised by a single mother in Massachusetts and New York. While attending West Babylon High School in Long Island, he met Jane O’Hara, the woman who would become his wife of more than 50 years.

The two moved to California and were married in 1962. Jane, who would later become a surgical nurse, worked in a medical office while Glen attended college at the University of Southern California, where he earned Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude honors, and then medical school.

With the Vietnam War raging, Justice entered the U.S. Army and the couple moved to San Francisco, where Justice served for almost a decade at Letterman Army Medical Center, rising to medical director and director of research for hematology and oncology.

Living in a small home on base, the couple bought a small yellow sailboat they christened “Butterball” and, after three lessons, took to the tumultuous waters of the San Francisco Bay – their infant son in the V-berth – igniting a life-long passion for sailing that they indulged all over the world. Significantly, Justice also took a position as Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, beginning a tradition of academic affiliation that would last throughout his career.

“My dad was the first in our family to go to college and it changed his life,” said Glen Justice, Justice’s older son. “It allowed him to pursue his calling. Long after his student days were over, the academic world remained very important to him. He loved to teach, taking medical students through rounds at the hospital or a day at the clinic. He felt it was important work.”

Justice retired from the military as a lieutenant colonel and relocated to Southern California, where he opened Pacific Coast Hematology Oncology Medical Group in Fountain Valley, the practice he would run for almost 40 years. As the 1980s progressed, they moved to Newport Beach, a town he would call home for the rest of his life.

At times, Justice served as chairman of the board at Fountain Valley Regional Medical Center; medical director at Fountain Valley Regional Cancer Center, Orange Coast Memorial Cancer Center and the Cancer Program of Western Medical Center; and president of the American Cancer Society in Orange County.

He served as an associate professor of medicine at UCLA and a full clinical professor of medicine at USC. He was also heavily involved in clinical trials and medical research throughout his career, authoring more than 1,500 articles in academic journals.

Justice also became deeply involved in medical missions all over the world. He and Jane arranged for drug manufacturers to donate medication and they traveled with a team of volunteers to establish pop-up clinics. The teams worked long hours in tough conditions to treat ailments of all kinds.

“We would work for 14 hours and treat 100 patients a day,” Justice said in an obituary for his wife, who died in 2023. “It was exhausting. But here’s this 5-foot-tall woman who never stopped and never complained.”

After leaving private practice, Justice became active with the Lestonnac Free Clinic, a 14-site organization treating an uninsured patient population, where he served as director of oncology. Even in his late 70s, he was a familiar sight at the organization’s Orange facility, where he frequently saw patients. When hip and knee problems made it difficult to walk, he did so in a wheelchair.

Justice was on vacation in Hawaii with his son John when he suffered a fatal heart attack. He is survived by two sons, Glen Justice Jr. and John Justice; his daughter-in-law, Petula Dvorak; his two grandsons, Miloslav Dvorak Justice and Emmett Dvorak Justice.

A service will be held at the Balboa Bay Resort on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025, beginning at 11 a.m.