1953 — 2008:

When Justin Ogata was paralyzed during a wrestling accident in 1969, doctors didn’t expect him to make it, his sister said. Once Justin made it through the first few days, she remembers doctors giving her brother about a year to live.

But a year passed, and Justin was still surviving. When doctors said it was likely he would not live five more years, it became obvious that Justin wasn’t listening to his doctors.

After living to be 54, 39 years after the Costa Mesa man’s accident, Ogata died Sunday. He is survived by brothers Alfred and John Ogata, sister Donna Ogata and mother Kiyoko.

“He was a fighter,” Justin’s younger sister Donna Ogata said. “He always thought he was going to make it, that he will be walking in a year.”

Justin Ogata, a former Costa Mesa High School student, was paralyzed from the neck down after suffering a freak wrestling accident during a practice on Dec. 5, 1969 — he was 16 years old.

“You could talk to him and it was still like talking to a young kid who never grew up — never gave up,” childhood friend Bruce Bishop said. “It was the best medicine for all of us, staying in touch with Justin.”

Bishop, who first met Justin when he was 12 years old, was friends with Justin for more than 40 years. Bishop, and other friends of Justin, would often take him out to parties, concerts and other events to keep him included.

“The guy was like Superman,” he said. “You never heard him cry about anything.”

After Bishop got out of the military he got interested in sky diving, but couldn’t do a tandem jump with Justin because of the risk it posed. So Bishop took it upon himself to set up Justin, then 21, in a glider. If he couldn’t walk, at least he could fly.

“It was something I never forgot,” Bishop said. “He never stopped talking about it.”

Bishop and Donna’s descriptions of Justin usually involved him smiling. He was quick witted, loved the Dallas Cowboys and was always trying to make everyone else happy, despite his condition.

Donna recalled when Justin was in his nursing home and he was constantly asking her for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. She thought, why does he want all this candy? Later she found out he had been asking all this time because the chocolate was another patient’s favorite and Justin wanted to do something to please them.

“It dawned on me he was always doing things like that, all these sweet little things,” she said. “I guess he was too embarrassed to tell me.”

Justin’s mother and his family took care of him through most of the years, installing a special room and shower in the house. When his mother’s health started to decline, as did Justin’s, he moved to a Country Villa Plaza nursing home in Santa Ana.

“When it comes to Justin and the Ogata family, there is a real story there when it comes to survival and family,” Bishop said. “The strength they had was unbelievable.”

Those who took care of Justin at Country Villa Plaza remember Justin as someone who brightened their day with a smile. He was even voted the Valentine’s Day prince two years ago by the other residents.

“He touched a lot of people because of his outlook on life,” said caretaker Melissa Delgado, who was “best buddies” with Justin because they both loved the Dallas Cowboys. “The thing that was really amazing about him was that he was never depressed or let his illness get him down. He still tried to do as much as he could do, as far as his illness would let him. He is truly going to be missed around here.”

Services for Justin will be at 2 p.m. Sunday at the Waverly Chapel in Santa Ana. Those wishing to pay their respects are welcome.

DANIEL TEDFORD may be reached at (714) 966-4632 or at [email protected].