Jason Craig Bedford

Jason Craig Bedford, first-born son of John and Jan Bedford was born on March 19, 1986 in Carrollton, Texas, and he went to be the Lord on March 31, 2013. He is survived by his parents, brother Jordan Bedford, brother and sister-in-law Jaryd and Vanessa Bedford, sister Joy Bedford, as well as his girlfriend Lindsay Brooks of Englewood, Colorado. He was also preceded in death by his grandfathers, Henry Uselton and Rev. Lee Bedford, in addition to his Aunt Patti Bedford and cousin Jennifer Grubbs.

Jason was a precocious child. He might be described as having been a “little man trapped in a young boy’s body.” Jason loved spending time being “Daddy’s shadow,” as he shared his father’s interest in mechanical things. From a very young age, it became apparent that Jason’s talents and abilities would lead him to become an engineer one day.

Most of Jason’s early education occurred at home as he was home schooled with his siblings. He showed great potential in math and science and enjoyed taking specialized science classes and working on projects at home. Jason built potato canons, conducted chemistry experiments, taught himself a variety of computer science skills including studying programming languages on his own, and he even built his own computer by the age of 13. And yes, it worked! 

He attended Terrell Christian Academy for his 10th and 11th grade years and even ran all of the network wiring for the school while there. True to Jason’s unique way of doing things, Jason never graduated from high school, but elected to begin college early. He attended DCCCD schools until he transferred to UTA where he graduated cum laude with a B.S. in electrical engineering in what would have been 4 years after high school. By the way, he did this while working 20-30 hours/week as a press operator for his uncle’s print shop.

Jason had diverse interests apart from school. He took piano lessons and developed an appreciation for Keith Green’s music. Later, he learned to play guitar and even joined the praise team at Fellowship Baptist Church in Forney, Texas. He loved boating, water skiing, snow skiing, and later, became an avid fisherman and hunter. He loved the outdoors. By the way, he loved aviation, too!

Having visited NASA as a youth, he set his sights on eventually working there. He dreamed of being in mission control (he loved to push buttons!). He fulfilled that dream after graduation from college and thoroughly enjoyed his years of working with the space shuttle program. Jason took great pride in having been the person to send the last command to the final shuttle mission. When the shuttle program ended, Jason chose to remain in the aerospace industry and spent time working in Colorado at Digital Globe, and then went to Oxnard, California to work for Qwaltec. Jason had just recently returned to Colorado to begin a new position as a consultant with Accenture Federal Division.

Jason also fulfilled another dream when he obtained his pilot’s license and eventually bought his first plane in January of this year. Jason was flying this plane to Colorado from California for the first time when his plane crashed 10 miles from what he thought would be his final destination.

Although his life was short by our standards, he packed a lot of living into his 27 years. Jason lived life passionately and pursued his dreams with every fiber of his being. Jason was one to help others in need, and he had shared his desire to eventually serve in ministry to others as a volunteer with Angel Flight. Although he did not have the opportunity to fulfill that dream, we invite you to honor his memory by contributing to this worthy organization.