Justice Jewelers cements leadership years after founder’s death

Woody Justice’s will called on three trustees to help the company transition.

Sisters Amelia Justice and Margie Justice-Pitoniak are now fully in charge of Justice Jewelers following their father’s 2011 death.

Joe Romano, who served as a company trustee and CEO in line with Woody Justice’s succession plan in his will, retired from Justice Jewelers yesterday, said Amelia Justice. She said Romano was the last of her father’s three trustees to retire, though she declined to name the other two.

“The goal has always been to keep it in the family,” Justice said, noting she and her sister co-own the Springfield jewelry company. “We’re just going on for the next generation.”

Justice said Romano previously operated New Jersey-based jewelry consultancy Scull and Co. that counted Justice Jewelers among its clients.

Amelia Justice runs the day-to-day operations at the 3520 E. Battlefield Road shop just east of U.S. Highway 65. Margie Justice-Pitoniak, a practicing psychiatrist living in Florida, works behind the scenes in a big-picture role, Amelia Justice said.

“That’s her personality anyway,” she said.

Woody Justice died in October 2011 following a stroke. The 62-year-old founded Justice Jewelers in 1982, according to Springfield Business Journal archives. His daughters in early 2013 returned to the Ozarks to run the shop as it celebrated its 30th anniversary.