Justin Ovidiu Jinga

It is with profound sadness that we share the tragic news of the unexpected passing of Justin Ovidiu Jinga on August 29, 2022. Justin was injured and tragically drowned while tubing on the Cowichan River at the end of a fantastic trip with friends and family.

When asked about single attributes that best describe husband, father, son, friend and colleague Justin Jinga, the answers included: the best dad, loud, smart, larger-than-life, a true friend, graceful, down-to-Earth, awesome, funny, charismatic, jovial, powerful, joie de vivre, raconteur, athletic, flamboyant, humble, profound, the gentle giant, loving, warm, quirky, you could hear him before you could see him, a magnet.

Born in Brasov, Romania on October 23, 1966, Justin was 55 years old. He is survived by his wife Carmina, his son Tudor and, his mother Sofia, father Nicolae, sister-in-law Liliana, brother-in-law Eugen, half-brother Claudiu, and many relatives, friends and colleagues.

Growing up in Brasov, Justin was very active and excelled at a number of sports over the years including competitive basketball, skiing and swimming. During university years he was a member of the University of Cluj basketball team - not a small feat. In addition to athletics he took piano lessons for many years.

Justin was an excellent student and after graduating the Andrei Șaguna National College in Brasov he went on to study electronics at the Technical University of Cluj-Napoca. He graduated in 1991 as an electrical engineer.

Between 1991 and 1996 Justin was employed at several well known operations in Brasov: Tractorul SA, American Tobacco and Kodak.

Justin immigrated to Canada in 1996 and settled in Vancouver. In short time he made many new friends and reconnected with old friends from Brasov.

Between 1997 and 2003 he worked as system administrator for Burntsand and Semotus Solutions Inc. For the last two decades, Justin worked as a system administrator in the IT Department of the Legal Aid BC Society.

At work his commitment and technical knowledge were valued by his colleagues, as was his wit and talent to turn the most boring meeting into a memorable event. He was loved and appreciated for his exuberant personality, expansive knowledge, loud voice and intelligence.

Justin met the love of his life, Carmina, in the summer of 2002 and they married in March 2003. Their son Tudor was born in February 2006. Justin has been intensely involved and influential in Tudor’s education and athletic development, never missing out on any training, game or tournament. He served as driver, chaperone, advisor and over-enthusiastic fan. A son couldn’t ask for a better role model.

Amongst Justin's many passions was skiing, which he did at an expert level. He could ski in any conditions effortlessly. Who else would ski down Lonsdale Avenue in the winter of 1996 but a freshly immigrated enthusiastic Justin?

Given his love of skiing it’s no surprise that he volunteered as a ski instructor on Cypress Mountain for 10 years between 1996 and 2006.

Justin was an excellent swimmer and had a keen interest in water activities, including scuba-diving and free-diving. He was especially known and loved for his joie de vivre as often expressed by his dedication to good food and fine wine. Not only did he like and want to taste everything, but he loved to combine flavours and ingredients into the dishes he served his friends.

His innate curiosity, thirst for knowledge and great generosity were hard to surpass. Around a table he was incredibly witty and opinionated, but always first and foremost a great friend. He was always ready to help a friend, no matter what, when or where. Justin was a “larger than life” character, filling almost any room and any party not only with his boisterous voice, but with amusing storytelling, smart humour and subtle references to historical facts and events. He was a poet at heart and his language was ripe with metaphors. Raconteur is the only way to describe someone who could fill the room the way Justin always did. He revelled in spending time entertaining his friends and family.

Always curious about the world, Justin loved travelling and exploring the globe. Family and friends were never missing. He was extremely thorough researching and organizing his travels. After every vacation he would organize the photos and videos and would produce a film or slideshow - a little gem capturing the essence of the trip: funny and special moments to share and review later on with family and friends.

Keep travelling, Justin. Drum lin.

There will be a Celebration of Life on Thu Sep 8th to honour a very loved soul.

As were his wishes, Justin will be cremated.

Service Details:

A Prayer Service & Visitation will be held at Mount Pleasant Funeral Home, 306 East 11th Avenue on Wednesday, September 7, 2022, from 7pm to 9pm

A Celebration of Life will be held the next day at Mount Pleasant Funeral Home, 306 East 11th Avenue on Thursday, September 8, 2022, from 2pm to 4:30pm.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MountPleasantFuneral.com for the JINGA family.