Jason Christopher Richards had a passion for life, a heart the size of Texas, and unwavering friendliness.  He was an outdoorsman and a music lover.  He was a husband, father, brother, and son, but most of all, a friend.

Jason considered every person he encountered a friend. Whether it was someone broken down on the side of the highway, or a person just waiting to be met on the pub stool next to him, Jason’s heart had room for everyone.  He counted as friends people from all walks of life, from states and countries around the globe. And he always made time for a conversation.

Nature was instilled in Jason from a very young age with his first camping trip at only a few months old in Apple Valley. He spent many summers and family reunions camping on the rivers of Washington State, learning to love the smell of the campfire and the stars in the sky from his mother’s passion for the wild. When given the chance to spend the night in a bed on road trips, he chose to sleep in the back of the truck or a tent instead. As a young adult, searching out new campsites and water holes in the Ocala National Forest was a favorite activity of his. And Jason held a life-long love for the acreage that his family retains of the original family farm in Richardsville, Kentucky; anyone who he could convince to make the trip was welcome to camp there with him.  While there, he may have spent less time looking for deer and turkeys than napping in the tree stands after late nights drinking bourbon (or moonshine!) around the campfire, but he deemed it a successful trip as long as a good time was had by all.

Jason was always happiest while outdoors, especially when on the water.  As a young boy, he loved to fish with his Dad and Grandpa on Rough River in Kentucky.  As a teenager he spent a considerable amount of time on his 14-foot Jon boat cruising up and down the Wekiva River.  A whole new world opened up to Jason when he began offshore fishing, and he thought nothing of making his way 35 or 40 miles off the central Florida coast to fish the Gulf Stream.  He used his 21-foot center console to explore lakes, rivers and waterways from the Atlantic to the Gulf Coast, and from Florida to South Carolina.  Jason also took great pride in being both first mate and marine mechanic of the family’s 36’ Carver, which was the setting for many amazing memories.  After all of his boating experience, however, he admitted on more than one occasion that his all-time favorite boat was his 9’ dinghy, given the lack of maintenance required, and most of all, its reliable motor!

Travel and adventure came naturally to Jason, which should be expected, as he was named after the patron saint of travelers. His first of four cross-country trips began at the ripe age of nine months in a Volkswagen Micro Bus, “Old Willy” (hole in the floorboard, crib in the back), braving blizzards from Spokane, Washington to Louisville, Kentucky in order to have Christmas with Grandpa and Grandma. By the end of his first reluctant visit to “Yankee” New York, he had the Manhattan and Brooklyn subway maps memorized, and sought out people who needed help finding their way.  Jason was thrilled to spend several years in his twenties traveling the islands of the Caribbean for work, and that just got him started. He traveled the US from Key West to Seattle, and from San Diego to Salem, MA with MANY destinations in between. He petted kangaroos in Australia, drank wine in Italy, and downed a pint in Dublin.  If there was ever an opportunity to embark on an adventure, whether with family, friends or even by himself, Jason made it happen.

Jason’s sense of adventure prevailed even after his cancer diagnosis.  Among many other trips with family and friends, he gave snowboarding one more shot, stated halfway down the mountain, “Life’s too short for this!” and then walked the rest of the way down, more or less right into the hot tub with an ice cold IPA.  He made two trips to Colorado, enjoying its breweries, ATV trails, and “greenery.”  He continued to combine his love for water and the woods with his attempt to navigate the “loop” through the rivers and lakes of Central Florida, where over the course of several days, he made camp by the water each night, sleeping in his treasured hammock.  Jason’s most recent aspiration was to thru-hike the Appalachian Trail.  He was never able to make this trip, but he spent many hours reading and learning about the AT from guides, books, and individuals who had spent time on the trail.

Following in his parents’ footsteps, Jason developed a tremendous appreciation for music of all genres.  His extensive iTunes library, of which he was very proud, exemplifies his diverse taste.  And he couldn’t resist purchasing a new CD every time he ate at Cracker Barrel.  He enjoyed live music in any venue, from Eric Church on the beach, to Nate Rateliff at Red Rocks, to jazz jam sessions in a Greenwich Village basement.  In the last days of his life, one of his few requests was that music be played at his bedside.

Jason could fix anything, just like his Dad.  Sometimes he took the long way around, but in the end, he was always MacGyver.  In every job he ever held he was working with his hands.  He devoted time to learning many trades (painting, auto mechanics, marine mechanics, welding, architectural signage construction and installation), but it wasn’t until he was accepted into apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 606 that he found a “home.”  As a proud member of a union, just like his Grandpa, Jason put his technical skills to use within a community of individuals whom he both liked and respected.

Jason adored his wife and best friend of twenty-two years, Melissa, and their two boys, Jamey (or John, as he prefers to be known now) and Liam Richards.  From the day Jamey was born, when he slept most of the night in his father’s arms, it was inevitable that Jason would be Jamey’s “daddy buddy,” and “daddy’s big hugs” became a byword in their home.  Jason relished experiencing Italy, for his sister Julia’s wedding, with a five-month-old Liam in his arms.  Jamey and Liam have inherited their father’s passion for being on the water.  From their infancy they have enjoyed scalloping trips on the Gulf, boating to the Disappearing Islands at Ponce Inlet, and sunset dinghy cruises around Lake Brantley with their dad.  The boys also exhibit Jason’s problem-solving skills and enjoy working with their hands. If Jason was working around the house or in the yard, Liam would inevitably be found close by, doing his best to “help” with any necessary repairs.  And Jamey delighted in building with Legos while sitting by Jason’s side.

Jason touched the lives of so many - his family, his friends, his coworkers, and even those he didn’t know. Jason’s passion for life and his contagious laughter will always live on in his boys, in his friends, and in our memories.