I grew up on Rosewood with Jason. He was my older brother's first best friend, and my family is reeling from the loss of Jason this week. It’s touching when you consider all of the ways that you are a product of all the people you’ve met in life. I’ve been thinking a lot about Jason - someone who I interacted with for probably less than 20 hours of my entire life - and recognize that he naturally helped me develop into who I am today.My dad taught me the basic moves of chess when I was a kid. After I got a basic grasp of how to play, I remember I used to play Jason when he would come over sometimes. He was a chess genius, and I remember him teaching me some stuff when I was still learning the ropes of the game. Today, I play chess every single day of my life, and I was a chess teacher for almost a year. I have to believe Jason was a big influence of that.I was looking back in my journal I kept from 2006 to 2010 when I was in college. I came across one entry in which Jason is the subject of the entry. I was dealing with a lot during that time in my life, and had found that standing up for what I believed in cost me a lot of respect from people who used to know me. This is the entry I wrote on March 18, 2006, and interestingly enough, it’s about Jason."Saturday, 18 March 2006Dear Journal, When I was a young kid, my older brother had a friend, Jason, who was a mastermind at chess.  He had ingenious strategies, and I couldn’t ever bring myself remotely close to standing a chance against him.        One time I played against Jason, I did the unthinkable:  I cornered his queen.  I was shell-shocked that I actually beat his strategy, and it would give me a leg-up the rest of the game.  I triumphantly took out Jason’s queen, proud that I had just eliminated my own personal Bobby Fisher’s key piece to the game. Jason wasn’t fazed.  He undauntedly smiled at my incredible feat.  As I wondered how he could resist from falling into a sweaty panic, he looked at me and said, 'Doesn’t matter.  That’s one less piece I have to worry about.'"In that journal entry, I relayed how Jason's words were particularly relevant in my life. I had lost a lot during that time in my life, namely, respect from people who thought I was becoming too devoted to Jesus and not being rational enough. But again, Jason's words helped me conceptualize that time in my life as I realized that losing my old "friends" might not have been such a bad thing. Like Jason's queen, my reputation (and who I was expected to be) had become one less thing I had to worry about.I ended that specific journal entry with this line, equating it to my reputation I had worked so hard to obtain:"  Jason still won that round of chess without his queen."After you meet someone, you can't ever be the same person again. When I think about Jason, I realize how true this is.

Nathan  Thank you for sharing this wonderful story and how you were part of Jason's life.  Your family will always be special to us.

Our deepest sympathy and prayers for you and your family from all of us.

Maureen and Larry, we are so deeply sorry for your loss. Your family is in our thoughts and prayers.

Dear Larry and Maureen,      Words cannot express the sadness I felt when I heard the news of your Son’s passing. It is my sincere hope that the moments of sorrow will soon be replaced with the memories of how much he was loved by all of you, and the good times that you shared as a family. Faith is a hard thing to get our arms around, especially during times like these. However, it is the one thing that can help us make it through difficult times. It is truly sad he is no longer here with you and your family in body however; faith allows us the confidence to believe that his spirit and love will remain with each of you forever. I am truly sorry for you and your families’ loss and hope that the pain lightens as much as possible as the days go by.SincerelyMichael McGrath and Family

OBITUARY

Jason R. Kruse

April 12, 1982 – March 29, 2016

Glueckert Funeral Home

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