Jason Arthur Schneider

Jason Arthur Schneider died 22 October 2022 of pancreatic cancer. He was born in Detroit on 7 February 1959 to Judy Mayer and Arthur Schneider. Jason spent his whole life fighting to make people’s lives better - not just family and friends but entire communities. After graduating college he moved to Boston and was involved in making independent living and transportation available to people with disabilities long before the ADA was passed. Some of the foundational meetings for AIDS Action were held in Jason’s living room and he was centrally involved in the founding of the first Medicare funded AIDS hospice in Massachusetts. In case that wasn’t challenging enough, Jason went back to school to become a middle school teacher. In Greenfield, MA and later New Haven he taught underserved students and served as not just an educator but a mentor. He was known to his students as Mr J and worked hard to make their lives better both in and out of the classroom. Above all, Jason loved his family home on St Joseph Island, Canada, which he visited every summer for his entire life. There he spent every possible day sailing, even on days which others may have regarded as “not windy enough,” “too windy” or “inadvisable.” Jason was also the family’s most sought after wedding officiant, having done three in six years! He will be remembered by the many whose lives he touched and also by his impressively large collection of mooses. Jason was preceded in death by his parents, Judy and Arthur, his sister Martha Leah, and his life partner Scott Bassett. He leaves behind his life partner Tom Reddoch, daughter Rachel Kenner, brother in law Ken Silverman, and nieces Tara and Jasmine Silverman, along with the many sundry friends and relations who know him as Uncle Moose. If you would like to donate in Jason’s memory, please consider The Kensington Conservancy (which preserves land on and near St. Joe Island) or ACT CT (which oversees a number of programs including AIDS support, harm reduction, and CT Pride.)