Malcolm "Jasper" Phillips

Jasper, born January 15, 1985 and raised in Chicago, Illinois, a true Chicagoan, a city boy through and through. He grew up traveling around the world with his mother, living in Australia as a toddler, and took his first steps at the Taj Mahal hotel. Jasper was introduced to good food as a child, ordering sushi and pork chops at restaurants. He attended St. Ignatius High School, studied Chinese martial arts, got into computers, and became an avid bicycle guy.

 

Jasper went on to Miami University of Ohio where he became known as “that guy with the long hair that zooms through campus on his bike!” Of course, he met the love of his life, his baby wife, Jandra. After he graduated with a degree in Linguistics and Chinese, he lived in China for a time, moved to South Korea with his wife to teach English for a few years, backpacked through Europe together, spent months in Southeast Asia with Jandra’s family, worked odd jobs in Chicago, adopted their first baby, Boss the boxer, headed to Boston to get his Masters in Computational Linguistics at Brandeis University, and started his career as an AI engineer at Mitre Corp where he worked to the very end. 

 

Somewhere between that timeline, Jasper and Jandra married in 2014 and they had 3 beautiful children together, Kiri, 10, Kai, 8, and Kalani, 5. They moved to Cleveland, Ohio to settle and raise their little happy family together. 

 

What can we say about Jasper?

We can all agree that he was truly, the epitome of the phrase, one-of-a-kind.

 

His fashion choices were so unique and there were many versions of Jasper that it was only fitting his wife threw him a “Dress Like Jasper” birthday party last year. 

 

He was also a real nerd at heart. He loved all things technology and geeky. 

 

Jasper was an avid CrossFitter and was obsessed with joining all types of fitness competitions. He may have seemed like just a skinny guy, but he was actually strong af. Jasper was able to do things most people can’t even imagine themselves doing. 

 

Also a car enthusiast, Jasper could identify the make and model of nearly any vehicle from just a glance. From his little Miati, to his loud, suped up Subaru Forester, you would find him under a car in the garage for hours. But nothing compared to his biggest marital gamble, his beloved pink Jeep!

 

He really was a man of many passions, but what he really is known for is his kindness, his gentle soul, his big, warm hugs and his genuine smile. He touched countless lives and inspired many as a great dad, devoted husband, a strong athlete with a brilliant brain.

 

In his last few years, Jasper found joy in the simplest moments, whether spending time with his family, or watching movies, maybe doing archery, or sitting around a bonfire with friends—he knew what was most important to him. 

 

Jasper is survived by his wife, Jandra, his beautiful children, Kiri, Kai, and Kalani, his loving mother and stepfather, Anne and Davey Cunningham, in-laws Sokyun and Kim Nam, brother-in-law Rich, auntie Susan and uncle Peter van der Meulen, father and stepmother, Chris and Lori Phillips, siblings Duncan, Grace and Io, plus countless cousins, aunties, uncles, and friends. 

 

Though Jasper’s time with us was far too short, his warmth and spirit will forever remain in our hearts. May his legacy inspire us to live with kindness and courage, as he so beautifully did. 

 

Jasper, deeply missed but never forgotten.