Elisabeth Maureen Jason

E to her friends, 41 years of age, passed away 30.December.2019. She was the daughter of Mark and Janet Jason of Longmeadow, MA. Elisabeth is survived by a maternal grandmother, Mrs. Joan Westerman, her parents, her sister Amanda Jason, her closest friend and life partner, Eber Simpson, and two clans of loving aunts, uncles, and cousins. E was born in Northampton, MA, and lived in Amherst, MA, for 4 years. The family moved to Chesterfield, MO, where she attended River Bend Elementary and Parkway Central High School. Her passions were music, theater, and horses. She was a member of a mounted Girl Scout troop for three years. After one year at Webster University, E graduated from Johnston College at the University of Redlands, Redlands, CA, with an interdisciplinary degree in Social Justice. Her thesis was a photo essay on the lives of the homeless on the streets of LA. She spent 3 years working for a program near Boston, MA, teaching life skills to difficult and troubled youth. E relocated to St. Louis and worked for several years at CenterPointe Hospital in St Charles before entering the BJC nursing school, graduating with a specialty in pediatric intensive care. Her professional nursing career was spent at Cardinal Glennon Children’s Hospital in the pediatric intensive care unit.

E loved stories. She loved everything about them: inspiring stories, redemption stories, stories of sadness, amazing anecdotes meandering about, never actually going anywhere. New stories made her eyes light up. Recalling an old favorite story made her shine with excitement. And telling a story, almost any story at all, animated her in a way that could rarely be stopped. She was a bard around the campfire, without need of a lute.

Elisabeth was an integral member of the Gateway Burners organization, serving in a number of capacities, including Event Coordinator, Headquarters! Lead (and yes, the exclamation point was very important) and Infrastructure Crew. She never turned down a chance to pack camping gear in the car and spend days in the woods with Eber, balancing the enjoyment of nature and the responsibility for the care of others. E was able to bridge the divide between dramatic individual effort and managing an unruly mass of well-meaning volunteers. She did not let her small size keep her from leading, always with respect and good humor, those of much larger stature. Elisabeth also served the St. Louis community by volunteering her nursing skills where they were needed, such as the Michael Brown march in downtown St. Louis. Two of her greatest loves were cooking and constructing. Both were part of her commitment to serving others, one quite literally. E is locally famous for inventing the evocative term “nibblement”, which was used for almost anything that escaped her kitchen.

Elisabeth lived a life filled with passion and accomplishments, friends and strangers that had yet to become friends, projects, service, and silliness. Those who knew her will be the better for having known that small bundle of energy that is Elisabeth