JASON R. CUMMINGS

Dear Mandy, Zach, and Family,
I was heartbroken to hear about the passing of Jason, and can only imagine all of the emotions you are going through now. The light in Decatur burns much dimmer with the loss of him...
As aside from being a constant, encouraging ball of energy, humor, and wit for as long as I can remember (even back to the old bus riding days when he would have been in Jr. High and me in high school), he just always seemed to be a true friend to our family and of course a best friend to my Brother John. Interestingly, it was in my Brother's passing that Jason and I became even greater friends...he was truly a rock in that regard, and an eternal spring of stories and laughs that I so desperately needed, and will so greatly miss. Fate would have it that it was Jason who came across me at my brother's site when John's stone was first placed...and I'll always remember how sitting there with my headphones on, sitting in a camp chair with plentiful Captain & Coke staring at John's stone and trying to make sense of it all, that I was initially startled to feel someone's hand upon my shoulder....and were it anyone other than Jason I would have lost it...but his timely visit there was a gift from God Thereafter, when coming back home to visit Decatur, stopping by Jason's house became the 2nd thing I did after 1st visiting my Brother's plot....and I am ever thankful for that comfort and encouragement he provided through to even the very last time I saw him.

Jason just had a way of making you feel like a rock star and I will so cherish (and miss) his stories and laugh, and just knowing that he was still back home, fighting the fight.

I really appreciated what was shared in his obituary, and the reminder about his Harley and how he must have often found peace out there on the open road....he was a cherished warrior, taken from the battlefield of life seemingly much too soon....and his quick smile and spark in his eye will forever be missed. It is comforting to know though, that he's being laid to rest next to his best friend, my Brother John...and I take solace in that his pain of (also) losing John is finally over, and the thought that perhaps even John being there to help welcome him in to their next set of adventures together. :)

Much Love,
Chadd Martin

May God bless you and your family in this time of sorrow.