Jason Marcus Richards

1973 - 2020

On May 3, 2020, the world lost a bit of its light with the passing of Jason Marcus Richards after his brief but valiant battle with pancreatic cancer. Jason was born on Feb. 12, 1973, in Charleston, South Carolina, where his father was stationed in the United States Air Force. As the child of a military family, much of his early childhood was spent moving from state to state and even overseas. After South Carolina, he lived in North Carolina, Delaware, Turkey, Arkansas and Indiana before moving to Tucson, Arizona, where he lived for nearly 8 years of his childhood. At the age of 16, Fairbanks became his home when his dad was transferred to Eielson Air Force Base. His adult years were spent primarily living in Alaska, but he spent time in his 20s living in California, West Virginia and Tennessee before returning to Fairbanks in 2006, where he spent the better part of 10 years until his wife's job moved them again to Nashville, Tennessee, in 2016. In 2018, they again relocated, this time to Oahu, Hawaii, where he spent the majority of the last year of his life. The time spent living there saw many of his family members visit him, and many happy memories were created. In Hawaii, just as when he lived in Tennessee and Alaska, he made an impression upon so many who interacted with him, particularly his coworkers, many of whom became good friends. Upon his diagnosis he returned to Tennessee to seek medical treatment, and to be closer to his family and his southern roots, as the south was the only place he felt at home if he couldn't be in Alaska.

Always a student of the world - Jason was a voracious reader, a deep thinker, a musician, a foodie, a dreamer. There was always something new to think about, learn about, dream about. Sit with him for more than just a minute and you'd be having an in-depth and thoroughly engaging conversation about anything from religions of the world to the best burger joint in town. Unless of course he happened to be picking on his guitar at the moment. Then he'd look straight at you while you were talking, appear to be listening, only to stop playing and say, "What?" when you finished speaking - having heard nothing of what you'd just said. Jason was always happiest when spending time with people he loved engaged in some kind of activity that fostered a feeling of togetherness and connection. Whether that was telling stories around a campfire at Birch Lake, playing guitar and singing during a family jam session in a beach house at the Outer Banks of North Carolina, or spending quiet time with his children Celia and Bryson. He loved anything that brought his people together, especially music, food, laughter and conversation.

Jason was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, William and Peggy Perkins. His Paternal grandparents, Fred Sr. and Celia Irene Richards. And by his beloved niece, Elizabeth Irene Schack.

Jason is survived by what he liked to call his "tribe" - the people closest to him, whether family or friends: his wife, Erika Richards and son Bryson Richards, of Franklin, Tennessee; his daughter Celia Richards, of Sparta, Wisconsin; his mother, Angela Richardson, and step-father, Howard Richardson, of Fairbanks; his father, Fred Richards, and step-mother, Patricia Richards, of King George, Virginia; sister Rachel Schack, brother-in-law Steven Schack, nephew Dylan Schack, and niece Audrey Schack, of North Pole; sister Jessica Richards and nieces Kaiya Brinson and Karoline Richards, of Fairbanks; sister Dana Richardson of Olympia, Washington; a huge, tight knit extended family across the U.S. from Oregon to Arizona to North Carolina with aunts who were like bonus moms and cousins who were like siblings; and friends Nate Fetters, Robert Leal, Melissa O'Neil, and their families.

Jason's tribe spanned thousands of miles across this globe, and the collective grief we all feel in his passing is tangible and overwhelming. But we carry him with us, each one of us the better for having had the opportunity to know him and love him. Memorial services in Lenoir, North Carolina and Fairbanks will be held at later dates yet to be determined, once it is possible for his loved ones to gather and honor him in the way he deserves.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Jason's name to The National Pancreatic Cancer Foundation or Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.