~ God's Arms ~  / Paula Richardson (Friend)

Dear Gadson Family,
My deepest condolences goes out to each of you. There are no words to ease  your hurt, but know that God has his arms around each of you at this time, and he won't let you go..  I pray for peace for you all. 
I will miss Jason greatly, as well. When we had the opportunity to chat, he'd share his excitement, he'd even call me at home to share what ever was on his mind. Jason was definatly a joy to know.  Remembering a conversation in particular, I know Jason loves his family. I'll always remember his warm, gentle, loving spirit!

~Peace, Gadson Family, Peace~
Paula Richardson

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neighbor and friend  / Kitty Mooneyhan (neighbor)

Jason, 
Every one in our neighborhood felt that you ( like Pebble's) belonged to all of us.   Ever since you were a young boy, you had the run of the neighborhood.  There was never any question that you were welcome in all of our homes or fishing in any of our ponds.  You knew that you never had to ask permision.   We all loved you and were crushed when you left us so suddenly.  You left a void that will never be filled by anyone else on Pebble Lane.   You helped to make our street a blessing to be  our home.  We pray that Heavenly Father's blessings of peace and comfort will be with your family and to all who love and miss you.   We know that we will see you again some day.                                                                                                       Frank and Kitty mooneyhan 

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Words about Jason  / Amy Gaston (Sister in law )
Mom
I don't think I could express any words better that Charlie's.  Please just add that the girls and I would love to be there today and we cherish the wonderful and supportive friends our family has.  Without them, we would have never made it through so far.  

We miss you Jason and we love you very much.

Amy and the girls. Close

To everyone who attended Jason's Pig Pickin - Please Read  / Charlie Gaston (Brother)
Hello All,
Thank you so much for coming today to support Jason's Memorial Pig Roast.  I know it means alot to Momma and Daddy and it means a lot to me to.  I know that Jason is looking down from heaven on this day with a smile on his face.  It is important as we remember the life of Jason that we have good friends and family to support us.  Even though I am far away.  I know that Momma and Daddy are surrounded by both.

Unfortunately, I am unable to attend today due to my schedule.  I am currently at sea performing exercises that are important to our submarine force remaining the premier submarine force in the world.  While I wish I could be there to support my parents, I know that what I am currently doing is important for protecting the freedom that so many Americans take for granted.  I will be thinking of Jason along with the rest of you on this day.  I ask that each one of you give each of my parent's a hug and tell them that I love them and wish I could be there today.

As I reflect on my brothers life many fond memories come to mind.  As I watch my own children grow up I see from a different perspective the relationships that siblings have.  While I know that Emma sometimes gets frustrated with her younger sisters, I know that she loves them very much and feels blessed to have them.  I have felt and continue to feel the same way about Jason.  It is a very special thing to be able to grow up with a sibling.  As the older sibling it is a special priviledge to attempt to pass on some of your wisdom so that they will be able to avoid some to the mistakes that you have made in the past.  Recently, my own children have started playing school regularly in which Emma is the teacher and Gracie and Laney are the students.  This is a great game where Emma gets to pass on to the twins some of her wisdom.  The twins are very eager to learn and catch on quickly.  This can only pay positive dividends in the end.  While we never had this kind of structured enviroment, I can remember many times where this same type of scenario played out between me and Jason.  Playing ball in the yard, fishing in the ponds, or even collecting and comparing baseball cards quickly come to mind.  I cherish these memories as these are memories that I would not have without Jason.  Jason is well remembered and equally missed.  One day I will meet up with him in heaven and our roles will be reversed, as he will be the one with the experience and I will be the one willing to learn.  

I love you Jason. One day we will meet again.

Thank all of you once again for coming today.  If any of you wish to contact me, my boat email address is gastoncc@providence.navy.mil. 

Momma and Daddy, know that I love you and will be thinking of you on this day.  You two are the best parents a son could ask for.  I look forward to seeing you soon.

Charlie Close

You Are Missed  / Jake Fulmer (good friend )
jason you were and still are a good friend and will always be around and never forgotten. love jake Close

The Broken Circle  / Rosa Lee Aunt Inez's Daughter (Aunt)

We little knew that morning that GOD was going to call your name.
In life we loved you dearly, in death we do the same.  

It broke our hearts to lose you, you did not go alone; for part of us went with you, the day GOD called you home.

You  left us peaceful memories, your loves is still our guide; and though we cannot see you, your are alaways at our side.

Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same; but as GOD calls us one by one, the CHAIN wil link again.
.................................................................................................................................

I look forward to the day I see you again, I am not afraid of death, Ijust think of all the loved ones, especially you, that I will see again Mom

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Dear Jason, Peggy & Charles  / Janice Simmons (Friend of Parents )
It has taken a long time for me to do this, but I want you both to know how much I think of you two every single day.  I cannot imagine your grief, your sorrow.  I can only wish for the two of you some kind of peace some day.  I know it will come.  It will happen here on earth.  May not be the depth we wish for, the amount we would desire, but it will come.  Heavenly peace will be so much more powerful, complete and eternal.

Love to you both and most of all, may you find some sort of comfort knowing people all around you wish you something only the Lord can provide with time.  Inner peace knowing you did your best as most parents do.  You loved your son and he knew it.  Somehow, Peggy and Charles, let the people who love and think of you every single day, take away some of the pain each time we talk of your beloved Jason.  Allow your neighbors, friends and family to shoulder some of the grief now.  You two have suffered an unimaginable loss. Most of us cannot know how deep, but those who love you two can only try to lift some of the burden of the enormous pain.  You see, if you allow us to take some of the pain away by listening, by loving you two, it helps us to feel we have helped you two just a little each time we speak of Jason.  Unfortunately, that is our only gift we can offer to two parents who are suffering and grieving.  My hope is somehow the weight of your suffering will lighten in some way soon.  You do not have to feel so much grief to still remember Jason, to still love your memories of your beloved son.  With the second celebration of his life approaching, my prayer for you Peggy and Charles is your days wll get sweeter in rememberance of Jason and not so painful.  You will be able to laugh in remembering your fine young son and not cry or hurt so much.  The first times may be awkward or uncomfortable. It is not a betrayal of his memory, his life.  It is healing to remember Jason with unending, complete love.  Eternal love for your beloved son.  When those days come for you tow, our job as your friends will be complete or ended.  For we will always remember Jason but with with smiles and loving hearts.  This is our gift for Jason to honor his wonderful parents.

Love to you both,
Janice Close

Letter to Mom  / Jason Gaston (I am Jason )
Mom, please don't feel guilty
It was just my time to go
I see you are still feeling sad,
And the tears just seem to flow.

We all come to earth for our lifetime,
And for some it's not many years
I don't want you to keep crying
You are shedding so many tears.

I have't really left you
Even though it may seem so,
I have just gone to my heavenly home,
And I'm closer to you than you know.

Just believe that when you say my name
I'm standing next to you,
I know you long to see me,
But there's nothing I can do.

But I'll still send you messages
And hope you understand,
That when your time comes to "cross over"
I'll be there to take your hand. Close

Coon Hunting  / Waylon &. Cristin Watkins (Very Close Friends )
We were on our way to Walker Days in Salisbury, North Carolina and Jason was doing about 90 miles per hour on the interstate.  Well, we got pulled.  The cop said "do you know how fast you wee going?" Jason said no and the cop asked if we were in a hurry and Jason told him we were going to Walker Days (a coon hunting event).  The cop said that if had been going any thing else we would have gotten a ticket. The cop said slow it down and he let us go.  We  love Jason so much and will never forget all of the coon hunting memories and just hanging out playing cards;

Love, Cristin & Waylon Watkins Close

Just like brothers  / Tom Russell (Good Friend )
More than friends. we were Brothers.  I will never forget you and thanks for all the memories.

Love, Tom Close

Jason / Sam Tupper (Best Friend )
For a very long time you have been a very good friend to me, you were always there when I needed someone no matter what  the problem and I willnever forget that.  I will never forget the times we had.

Your friend, Sam Close

Jason / Bobby &. Lisa Rasvansky (Life friend )
You left a void that can never be filled and memories that will never be forgotten.  I hope you can see how many people loved you.  Give Chad a hug for us!

Much love, 
Bobby & Lisa Close

He fought a Good Fight  / Peggy J. Gaston (Mother)

I do not know why my son chose to die,
I do not understand the depth of his pain,
I do not have the answers to all my whys.
I do not understand the depth of my pain.

I do know I miss him a lot,
He made a decision without checking first,
I do know the hurt to his family this brought,
He made a decision, for us, the worst.

He is no longer in pain,
He is no longer a prisoner of his body's demise,
He is free from his chain,
He can walk straight and easily make his body rise.

My arms ache for a hug,
My lips long for a kiss.
My mind begs for answers,
My son, Jason,I miss.

The grief overwhelms me.
Swallows me whole.
The grief envelopes me.
My body and soul.

It is hard to put to words the way that I feel.
It is hard to explain to people I know.
It is hard to accept that all this is real.
It is hard, sometimes, for my feelings to show.

I feel the need to be the strong one.
To be there for Charles, Charlie, Amy and the girls.
I feel the need to be the shoulder to lean on.
To be the one that's there for me.

I long for a day when the pain is not so sharp.
I long for a time that my mind doesn't replay.
I long for a time when there is not an arrow thru my heart.
I long to take back the events of that day.

I take comfort thqt he is in Heaven.
Resting in the lap of the Lord.
I take comfort that he has found peace.
He fought the good fight then put down his sword.

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with love  / Veronica
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Do's and Don'ts  / Veronica Angelmom To Zachary Vanwinkle (angel family )
Don't whisper behind us when we enter a room.
We are in pain, but not deaf.
Don't stop calling us after the initial loss.
Our grief does not stop there and we need to know others are thinking of us.
Don't be offended when we don't return calls right away.
We take each moment as it comes and some are worse than others.
Don't tell us to get on with our lives.
We each grieve differently and in our own time frame.
Grief can not be governed by any clock or calendar.
Do say you are sorry, We're sorry, too, and you saying that you are sorry is far better than saying any of those tired cliches you don't really mean anyway. Just say you're sorry.
Do put your arms around us and hold us. We need your strength to get us through each day. Do say you remember our child, if you do. Memories are all we have left and we cherish them.
Do let us talk about our child. Our child lived and still lives on in our hearts, forever.
Do mention our child's name. It will not make us sad or hurt our feelings.
Do let us cry. Crying is an important part of the grief process. Cry with us if you want to. Do remember us on special dates.
Don't ask us if we are over it yet. We'll never be over it. A part of us died with our child.
Don't tell us they are in a better place. They are not here with us where they belong.
Don't say at least they are not suffering. We haven't come to terms with why they suffered at all. Don't tell us at least we have other children. Which of your children would you have sacrificed?
Don't ask us if we feel better. Bereavement isn't a condition that clears us.
Don't force your beliefs on us. Not all of us have the same faith.
Don't tell us at least we had our child for so many years. What year would you choose for your child to die?
Don't tell us God never gives us more than we can bear. Right now we don't feel we can handle anything else.
Don't avoid us. We don't have a contagious disease, just unbearable pain.
Don't tell us you know how we feel, unless you have lost a child. No other loss can compare to losing a child. It's not the natural order of things.
Don't take our anger personally. We don't know who we are angry at or why and lash out at those closest to us.
Our child's birth date, death date and holidays are a very lonely and difficult time for us. Do send us cards on those dates saying you remember our child. We do.
Do show our family that you care. Sometimes we forget to do that in our own pain.
Do be thankful for children. Nothing hurts us worse than seeing other people in pain.

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I Know You Had to Go  / Veronica Angelmom To Zachary Vanwinkle (angel family )
I know you had to go.
It was written before we knew.
It was part of your sterling job,
you were taken when you were through.
My tears still stain my cheeks,
my eyes still look for you,
my heart will always weep
until I ‘m again with you.
Be still my love and watch us from above.
Know if you know nothing else,
just how much you're loved!
By Veronica Partridge
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Death is Nothing at All  / Veronica Angelmom To Zachary Vanwinkle (angel family )
"Death is nothing at all. I have only slipped away into the next room. I am I and you are you. Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name; speak to me in the easy way which you always used; put no difference in your tone; wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow; laugh, as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together; pray, smile, think of me, pray for me; let my name be ever the household word that it always was; let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of a shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant; it is the same as it ever was; there is unbroken continuity. Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight? I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near -- Just around the corner. All is well."
Henry Scott Holland
Canon of St Paul's, London
1847 - 1918
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The Dash  / Veronica Angelmom To Zachary Vanwinkle (angel family )
The Dash







I read of a man who stood to speak

at the funeral of a friend.

He referred to the dates on her tombstone

from the beginning...to the end.



He noted that first came the date of her birth

and spoke of the following date with tears,

but he said what mattered most of all

was the dash between those years.

For that dash represents all the time

that she spent alive on earth...

and now only those who loved her

know what that little line is worth.



For it matters not, how much we own;

the cars....the house...the cash.

What matters is how we live and love

and how we spend our dash.



So think about this long and hard...

are there things you'd like to change?

For you never know how much time is left.

(You could be at "dash midrange.")



If we could just slow down enough

to consider what's true and real,

and always try to understand

the way other people feel.



And be less quick to anger,

and show appreciation more

and love the people in our lives

like we've never loved before.

If we treat each other with respect,

and more often wear a smile...

remembering that this special dash

might only last a little while.



So, when your eulogy's being read

with your life's actions to rehash...

would you be proud of the things they

say about how you spend your dash?



Author Linda Ellis

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