Though he was known for having a gruff demeanor — as is standard for many chefs — those who were friends of Justin Ames loved him and were heartbroken to learn of the 38-year-old’s death on April 22.
His cause of death is pending an autopsy report.
McFiler’s Chehalis Theater owner Tim Filer sat down with The Chronicle to talk about Justin Ames, a friend he was close with since they attended middle school together.
The pair worked together previously at The Hub Bar & Grill, with Justin Ames also having worked in numerous other kitchens throughout the Twin Cities area.
“He’s worked all over town, The Limit, Insert Coin, O’Blarney’s, McFiler’s of course. I’m sure there’s more places too, including kitchens at nursing homes,” Filer said. “Burgerville, way back in the day, I think was his first job, running the grill there. He’s always been a kitchen guy.”
Justin Ames leaves behind his wife, Jenn Holt, and two daughters, ages 4 and 6, Emilia and Avrey Ames.
Filer is holding a benefit dinner, auction and concert for the family on May 20 at McFiler’s Chehalis Theater, located at 558 N. Market Blvd. in Chehalis.
The $65-per-ticket benefit dinner will feature a three-course meal and will begin with staggered seatings at 4:45 p.m., 5 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
Tickets for the dinner can be purchased online at https://bit.ly/42msc4k.
Then, at 6:30 p.m., a live and silent auction will begin. Cost of admission into just the auction is $20 and the auctions will end between 7:30 and 8 p.m., Filer said.
Following the auctions, musical performances by some of Justin Ames’ favorite local bands and musicians will begin. They will include Tigers On Opium, James Hunnicutt, Tyler Ritter, Jason Kennedy of State of Krisis, Downtown Ian Brown of the Hub City Hillbillies and Earthslave — a band Filer and Justin Ames played in together.
“I’ve known Jenn for years and she’s a great mom and amazing friend and person, but she’s not exactly flush with cash. She’s like the rest of us, just working a day job and trying to make ends meet,” Filer said.
That’s where the benefit comes in.
Filer hopes to take the money from the benefit and invest it so Justin Ames’ daughters can use it when they need it later in life. He is the girls’ godfather.
“Depending on what the girls’ grandmother wants to do, we might move the money into an actual trust with some of her assets,” Filer said.
Before they ever worked with each other, Justin Ames and Filer would get into trouble together growing up. Both of them, along with a couple other friends, built a 15-pound sledge hammer in shop class and would use it to smash mailboxes. The hammer also featured a spike on the handle.
“We called it the ‘mailbox annihilator,’ and Justin had this beat up Ford F-150 that we would drive around. It was his grandpa’s truck, he lived with his grandpa, and old George Ames really didn’t give two sh-ts what we did as long as Justin went to school and got good grades,” Filer said. “George knew exactly what was going on but as long as we didn’t get caught he didn’t ask too many questions.”
During one particular mailbox-annihilating drive, another friend attempted to use the hammer’s spiked end to spear a mailbox. The mailbox ended up being reinforced. Instead of ripping the box off of the post, the entire mailbox and post came out of the ground and bounced the hammer right into the truck, puncturing a hole in the side of the F-150.
Filer’s favorite memory with Justin Ames involved a time in high school when the pair pulled a “hey mister” and got someone to buy them alcohol.
The pair eventually stumbled back to Justin Ames’ house. They stayed up until 3 or 4 a.m.
Filer woke up the next morning with a predictably brutal hangover, which wasn’t helped by the smell of what George Ames decided to cook for breakfast that morning.
“George was a World War II veteran, very scrappy old dude, and I wake up at like 7 in the morning to the most smell I had ever smelled in my life, all while I’m malt liquor hungover,” Filer said.
George Ames’ breakfast consisted of fried oysters and potatoes.
“It filled the whole house with this god-awful smell of fried oysters, and at this point, I’ve got the worst hangover I had so far in my entire life, and I’m like, ‘What is that?’” Filer said. “Justin just rolls over and looks at me and goes, ‘It’s oysters.’ And then George got us up and made us eat oysters with him.”
Needless to say, Filer couldn’t keep the oysters down, and Justin Ames would make fun of Filer for it for the rest of his life.
Aside from the May 20 benefit dinner, auction and concert, Filer has also started a GoFundMe campaign to benefit Justin Ames’ family. To donate, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/justin-ames. As of May 8 the GoFundMe has raised $13,621 out of a $15,000 goal.
Additionally, the Centerville Cafe announced on Facebook it will be holding a $10.99 waffle special from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. on May 10, with all proceeds going to Justin Ames’ family.
“The world lost a great human and his family needs our help,’” read an April 28 Facebook post.
The Centerville Cafe is located at 111 N. Tower Ave. in Centralia. For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/TheCentervilleCafe.
