Jason Paul Berard, 38, of Portsmouth, Rhode Island, passed away at Miriam Hospital on September 6, 2023.
Born in Warwick, RI on November 24, 1984, He was the son of the late Steven George Berard and Marcia Jean (Fearney (Berard) Hurley.
Jason was an organ donor. The team of doctors that did the surgery for that read a note written by Jason’s mom, Marcia, in the operating room as follows:
“Jason has a beautiful heart. He is selfless, kind, giving and thoughtful. He has been a loving, devoted son to me. He would wait on me if I was sick, buy me flowers every time he got his check and would spend many hours with me watching movies and talking. That love didn’t stop with me though. He loved his family and friends and would do anything for them.
Jason loved animals. He befriended a chipmunk who he named Chippy. Every morning he would sit on the porch and Chippy would come up and he would feed him peanuts. While Chippy was trying to stuff peanuts in his mouth, Jason was able to pet him. He even built a little tunnel for Chippy with camouflage so the neighborhood hawk wouldn’t get him.
Jason was a fighter. It seemed that everything he tried to do in life would get sabotaged by outside forces or his own doing. Like many of us, he was his own worst enemy sometimes. However, he would pick himself back up and not give up. I would always tell him he was just like his grandma who was also a fighter and he would smile and say “yes but I got that from you too Mom cuz you are a fighter also “.
He had a wicked sense of humor; always acting out. Many times he would mimic my two cats with high pitched voices as if they were talking. Or he would imitate someone we both knew. He had me in stitches. He often thought about becoming an actor. He would have been good at that.
Jason was creative and had quite an imagination. He liked to come up with these very realistic inventions. He’d share these with me with such enthusiasm.face
Jason was big into nutrition and exercise, strength training and endurance. A couple years ago he was into parkour. He asked me to go to a playground where there were poles and bars. He grabbed hold of a pole in the ground midway and stretched his body out sideways from the pole and held himself out like that for a time. I was quite impressed. That was a big feat for him since his stature is not small.
He was always writing in notebooks about his visions and ideas, but it wasn’t always all about him. He loved people and wanted to help them improve their health as well. He would write up meal plans and fitness goals for his friends and family. He was very good at calculations of calories, carbs, protein, fats and so forth.
When Jason was around ten his father got him interested in boxing. Down the street there was a gym that Vinny Pazienza trained at. Jason got to spar with Vinny. Vinny’s trainer was named Tiny. Tiny thought Jason had great potential so decided that he wanted to train Jason. Jason ended up in a tournament and won his first match at eleven years old.
Jason’s greatest passion is arm wrestling. When he was living in San Diego, he was invited to train at the gym of John Brzenk, who is known as being “the greatest wrestler of all time”. Ever since then he was hooked. His dream was to open up a gym for arm wrestling on the East Coast and hold tournaments here.
I’m really going to miss you Jay. We have always been very close. You were good company and kept me motivated and made me laugh. It’s good to laugh.
I know that there are many others that are going to miss you as well. I love you. You Are My Sunshine and Always Will Be. Love you with all my heart, MOM.”
Jason is survived by his mother, Marcia and step-father Lawrence Hurley, Jr.; his younger brother Larry Hurley; and his aunt; Veronica ‘Ronnie’ Mancini. Jason will also be missed by his cousins; Billy Mancini, David Mancini, Christopher Mancini, Stephanie Mancini, and especially, Mary Lou Mancini.
Jason is preceded in death by father, Steven Berard and his grandparents; Alyce Gormly and William Fearney.
Calling hours will be held on Monday, September 18, 2023 from 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM at Memorial Funeral Home, 375 Broadway, Newport, Rhode Island. A Funeral Service for Jason will be held immediately after the viewing at the Memorial Funeral Home at 6:00 PM. Burial will be private.
Donations may be made in Jason’s memory to the Potter League for Animals, 87 Oliphant Ln., Middletown, www.potterleague.org
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