To Jason’s Army,

I am so overwhelmed and profoundly grateful to Jason’s fans, his colleagues and friends with the outpouring of love, generosity and support in the wake of my husband’s passing.

Jason and I spent 17 years together. We met shortly after my father passed away, and he felt like a godsend. For 17 years, he made me laugh. He challenged me every day to be better and taught me what love really is. He was my best friend. We shared a love of music. Jason had seen close to 80 Phish shows in his life, and I had just seen my 29th Phish show with him.

As I read about his mentorship to young writers, I remember how often he would talk about them – especially Boy Genius. He believed in paving the way for people, as life itself is already so hard. Jason also wanted to make sure Sienna, Keira and Hudson had the best childhood. He believed so deeply this would set them up for life. He came from humble beginnings and never asked for anything. He was a man of service, which gave him great joy.

We would often say we can’t do life without each other; I am in complete shock and uncertain how to live a life without him. He always said his whole purpose in life was to make me and the kids happy. He took care of us in ways I never fully appreciated.

What has given me some comfort is reading the outpouring of beautiful, heartfelt comments on several forums on what Jason meant to all of you. Some mentioned he had many more years to write before he retired, but the truth is he was never going to retire. He loved writing and covering hockey with every fibre in his being. It made him feel alive.

One comment that really touched me was from Jared S., who mentioned Jason’s writing reminded him of Hunter S. Thompson. That was Jason’s favourite writer. We named our dog Hunter after Hunter S. Thompson. Thank you for recognizing the connection.

This is going to be an extremely long road ahead and one that I have no clue how to navigate, but seeing the tremendous love and respect you have for Jason and the extreme generosity for what he has left behind makes me believe that his legacy will live on.

Jason was blessed to have such wonderful, loyal fans and colleagues who supported him during his life and brought his army to mourn his death.

Thank you for sharing your stories and being vulnerable about what Jason meant to you. I am eternally grateful and beyond moved. I will be putting every single comment in a memory book for my kids to read one day.

Bless you all,

Kathryn Botchford