Chare

Well-loved for 52 years, this world has lost an exceptional human being. Jason was one of the good ones, a true gentleman and kind soul. Jason was well-spoken, witty, reliable, yet humble. He personified the ultimate combination of human decency and cool. He was an exceptional human being.

Always sensitive to others, Jason was a selfless and gentle man. He knew that the little things were the big things, playing the bass, sunny days at the beach or forest, secret breakfast with his boys, a good cuppa joe, being in nature hiking, drawing, and painting. With his wife, Clara, time was spent just chatting about the state of the world, planning for the future, creating a household of cherished traditions with experiences and customs of four different cultures: Japan, Canada, the UK, and China. His main priority really was his family, including his extended family. He was not someone who had a big social circle as he was a bit on the shy side. But he was well-respected by all who met him.

Jason moved to Japan in 1993 to teach English in Saga, Japan. After a year, he left for Osaka where he continued to teach, study and master Japanese, work in a bar and play in a band. In 2001, he made the leap to change careers and moved to Tokyo. People have described Jason and Clara’s meeting as a “meeting of souls”. As a couple enjoying life in the big city of Tokyo, each year, they travelled extensively to Australia and the UK, Asia, and Canada many times over as they have a large network of friends and family. Married in 2005, they finally started their family by adopting Tora in Japan in 2011 and welcomed Ryan by natural birth 9 months later. They moved to Clara’s hometown, Vancouver, in 2014.

Jason was a natural leader. He worked as Director of the Tokyo English Life Line in Japan for 6 years. In Canada, he started working for the Crisis Line Association of B.C., which provides online support for suicide prevention. In Canada, he started working for the Crisis Line Association of B.C., which is a network of crisis lines providing 24-hour support for suicide prevention and mental health. In 2017, he was one of the key leads in forming Canada’s first national suicide prevention service through Crisis Service Canada (CSC). He continued in this role as Director of Operations for CSC, until his death. Colleagues have described him as a gentle, diplomatic yet passionate and driving force who led a team to form something that has literally saved thousands of lives. He was a person who always revealed something interesting and new to them, bestowing stories of climbing Mt. Fuji no less than seven times, fighting ten opponents in a row to get a black belt in karate, playing his bass in a band in Japan, as well as sharing his love of music with his kids. He loved riding motorcycles and having a beer with family and friends at the pub.

Since his Myeloma diagnosis in 2018, Jay dealt with his disease in the same way he lived his life: with positivity, hope and grace. He never asked, “why me”, never complained and in fact, few people even knew of his battle. The final months were hard but in his last days, Jason was at peace to leave this world. He was ready and he was not afraid.

Jason was predeceased by his mother Mary in 2015.

Survived by loving partner of twenty years, Clara, sons; Tora and Ryan, father David (Pauline), siblings; Mark (Louise), Claire (Steven) Carter and half sister Natasha, brother-in-law and sister-in-law; Grace (Enoch) Liang, David (Sofie) Hung, father-in-law Philip Hung, nieces and nephews; Aimee, Jacob, Samuel, Helena, Madeline, Elijah, Dylan and Isaias.

Private funeral mass will be held at St. Francis of Assisi Parish. Donations may be made to GoFund.me/2913c08b in honour of Jay.