Jason William Knight

Billy, Lynn and Jaime would all like to thank everyone who has shown us so much support over the last couple weeks. This has been the most difficult time in our lives and knowing that Jason touched so many people with his incredible wit, diamond in the rough charm, and truly caring openness and passion has been truly invaluable. Jason was born Jason William Knight on July 25th, 1971 in Albuquerque NM while Billy was stationed in Germany during his service in the army. With a new baby in tow Lynn went to Germany and within the year, Jaime was born. Jason and Jaime were incredibly close as children, and not so much as teenagers. Many a Depeche Mode vs Black Sabbath stereo duel were had in the morning before school. As the kids grew older they became very close, living together in Albuquerque and later ending up living in California where they nurtured a truly loving adult sibling relationship. He was Jaime’s advocate and champion in so many ways. Jason's rough exterior belied what was an incredible intellect. He graduated from UNM with a double major in Math and Physics and was honored for being top of his class. He worked briefly at Los Alamos Laboratory but couldn’t stand the bomb making aspect of the lab. He moved to California and studied Physics at UC Davis, worked at Lawrence Livermore Lab, Alameda Applied Science, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and finally at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. He loved his job as a beam light scientist using his knowledge in math and physics to advance experiments which result in positive cutting-edge research across a variety of disciplines. As he grew older he became more and more interested in politics and developed what can only be understood as a Socialist belief system. Arguing politics was never really fun with Jason, but chances are he would make you think and you would probably learn something in the end. His father who is a political junkie was extremely proud of the intellectual thinking of Jason around the values they shared. Jason loved his friends and was loyal beyond what normal people consider “loyal”. He chose his friends wisely, but you knew if you were part of his tribe, you were in for life. As a family it is very comforting to hear from and about all the many friends he developed throughout his short life. Jason was not afraid of life. From a young age he lived his with a sort of fearlessness. He mountain biked, hiked, skied, rock climbed, rode dirt bikes, motorcycles, and partied all with the same thrill-seeking approach. Jason will be immensely missed by his family and all his many friends, but all are comforted by knowing that he loved and lived life to its fullest and was an extremely happy individual. On August 24th a private memorial for Jason’s family, friends and friends of the Knight family will take place in Taos. Please call Billy at 575-770-1520 to be added to the guest list if you’ve not received the evite.