Tuesday, August 25, 2009

In Memoriam: Jason Kelly

An email from Jason Kelly's sister, in Guelph, Ontario, Canada last week announced that Jason was dead. I was shocked and saddened by the news. I had been in correspondence with Jason only a few weeks ago when he was in Thailand. He had planned to start a LifeRing recovery meeting there, with a minimum one year commitment. Jason was the driving force behind our organization’s decision to hold our 2005 annual meeting in Guelph, and all of us who worked with Jason on that project admired his boundless energy and creativity. Thanks to Jason, many participants in our network grew in our awareness and appreciation of Canada. The Monday evening LifeRing meeting in Guelph, which Jason founded, continues to meet to this day.

I sent condolences on behalf of myself and on behalf of the entire LifeRing Secular Recovery network to the family. The Guelph Mercury newspaper covered the memorial service here.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Jason was one of the most enthused people I ever met at a Lifering function. He took up the cause with more verve than most. I will never forget his zeal for the Lifering principles. He will no doubt be dearly missed by those who knew him.

Mark Karppinen said...

I am so saddened to hear of Jason's passing. I just found out about it now. I was in mourning from the passing of my wife and just lost contact with him. I tried to contact him sometime after but received no reply. Now I know why... He was a wonderful man who was driven by his passion to do good. I miss him. So very sad and a huge loss....