Obituary of Jason Stuart Schaffer

SCHAFFER: Jason Stuart, loyal husband of Angela (Thompson) and loving father of Tyler and Ashley, passed away suddenly while assisting a customer on the TransCanada Hwy, on Monday, December 9, 2013 at the age of 39 years. Jason was born in Regina, SK on April 11, 1974 to Diane Nelson and Stuart Schaffer. Jason started his elementary school years in Regina, SK before the family relocated. He and his family, now including a sister, Natasha Schaffer, moved from Regina, SK to Swan River, MB. The family welcomed a brother and another son while living in Swan River, Jared Schaffer. Jason continued to attend elementary school and started middle school in Swan River before the family moved to Flin Flon, MB, where Jason graduated from high school in 1992 from Hapnot Collegiate. Shortly after graduation, Jason relocated to Brandon, MB which he called home for over 20 years. Not long after his move to Brandon, MB, Jason met Angela and they have been each other's loves for over 20 years. In 1996, Jason became the proud father of a son, Tyler Jason Schaffer, on September 2, 1996. "Second tember," Jason always called Tyler's birthday every year. As a toddler, Tyler always told everyone his birthday was, "second tember" and the saying stuck for Jason. Then almost seven years after the arrival of Tyler, Jason was blessed a second time with a daughter, Ashley Jordyn Schaffer, (Beauty, as Jason called her all the time) on July 10, 2003. Jason was incredibly proud of each of his children; they meant the world to him. Providing and caring for his family was one of Jason's top priorities, whether it was working long hours, making delicious meals, doing the laundry or cleaning the house. He was always there for all of us whenever we needed him, we never went without anything. While still living in Flin Flon, MB, Jason started his working career at the local Home Hardware when he was 15 years old. When Jason moved to Brandon, MB, he delivered building supplies for South End Lumber. Although Jason liked these jobs and always went above and beyond, his next job was his truest life's passion, he started to work for Brandon Towing Service as a Tow Truck Operator. It takes a unique person to operate a tow truck and Jason was definitely one of these people who had towing in his blood. Jason worked for BTS for several years either as a full time or a part time operator. During his employment with BTS he achieved his class 1 license and started operating heavier tow trucks. While operating a tow truck part time, Jason started selling vehicles at Kelleher Ford as his full time employment, which he excelled at. He enjoyed selling vehicles and many months he would earn the spiff for exceeding the monthly sales goal. He was amazingly good at anything and everything he put his mind to. Jason made another career change and started with Jamieson & Judd Electrical, and continued to operate a heavy tow truck on a part time basis for All Rig Towing. He continued on with Jamieson & Judd for several years and became a Journeyman Construction Electrician, with a grade of 98%. If you knew Jason, you would know that 98% wasn't quite good enough for him. He always strived for perfection, a trait that served him well. While still employed with Jamieson and Judd, Jason worked on the Royal Oak Inn expansion as well as numerous other electrical jobs in the area. Jason also managed several large construction projects, for his employers, such as the Brandon Hospital expansion for an electrical company based in Newfoundland named JS Murray Electric, and the construction of the PPCLI buildings in Shilo, MB for Park City Electric located in Brandon, MB. When Jason finished his employment in October 2004 in Shilo, MB, he was laid off. Jason took this opportunity and began to write a business plan to start his own towing company here in Brandon, MB. He spent several months preparing to start his own business, now known as Accel Towing and Transport Ltd. Jason successfully started this business with 2 trucks, a goose neck trailer, himself and support from Angela, and transformed it to the largest company of its kind in the Westman area, with approximately 20 trucks, trailers and 20 employees. Jason was a risk taker, a visionary, every risk he took paid off and every vision he had always came to life due to his perseverance. Failing was never an option for Jason, no matter what he did. Jason took much pride in the business he and Angela created. Customer service and exceeding the typical expectations of a towing company was extremely important to Jason. He was a true professional at everything he did. Spending time with his family was very important to Jason. He was a very busy guy, but he always made time for Angela, Tyler and Ashley. The family enjoyed travelling together and took many family vacations and created many memories that will be cherished for a lifetime. He also enjoyed taking Tyler on fishing trips to the Whiteshell area and creating a bond with his son. Jason enjoyed camping with his family in the summer, he was a fantastic camp cook; actually he was a fantastic cook all the time. Snowmobiling and quading were also activities Jason liked to entertain himself with. If it had a motor, burned fuel and was loud, he liked it. He also spent many hours working on his 1980 Camaro and 1979 Nova. The Demo Derby at the Manitoba Summer Fair was always great fun for Jason. Accel sponsored the event for the past several years and Jason loved to participate, pulling out all the smashed up cars at the end of the heats. He enjoyed creating things, from a new meal he had never made before, all the way to a successful business. Jason enjoyed making things work and was a lifelong learner, if he didn't know how to do something or how something worked, he would teach himself. His ambition was contagious. Jason was a man that was larger than life. Even though his time with us was too short, he lived, experienced and achieved more than most do in a life time. If you knew Jason you had to know who Dusten Bittle was, and vice versa. For those of you who may not know, here are some sections of the eulogy Dusten wrote. "It is never easy to lose someone so close! Jason was my best friend. He was the brother I never had. Any time we took a trip somewhere together people would always ask, are you guys brothers? We'd look at each other and smile and say pretty much. This loss is particularly hard for me because I have known Jason for 15 years and watched him grow into the awesome guy I will forever remember. So I wonder how we are supposed to find peace and comfort in feeling this seemingly unbearable loss! All I can say is I'm glad to have taken the time to get to know you Jason you truly are the type of person you just don't meet every day. You were awesome in every way imaginable. We were definitely like kids together." Jason and Dusten had a friendship like no other. They were there for each other no matter what, it could have been to clear snow at the yard to electrical work in the barn, or just talking to each other, it didn't matter what they were doing, and they were always up to something. They enjoyed being together, having snacks and having show and tell, as Jason and Dusten would call it. They truly were little boys at heart sometimes. Jason couldn't have asked for a better friend, because he had one that he thought was perfect. Jason is survived by his wife of 20 years Angela (Thompson), son Tyler Schaffer, daughter Ashley Schaffer. Parents Diane Nelson and Stuart Schaffer (Jean Marino) of Winnipeg, MB. Sister Natasha Schaffer (Curtis Kalyta), nephew and niece Rylan and Laneya of St. Andrews, MB. Brother Jared Schaffer of Winnipeg, MB. Numerous Uncles and Aunts, Ted and Sue Nelson, Laurie and Yen Nelson, Barb and Russ Dobson, Patrick Nelson, Rod Schaeffer, MJ Schaeffer, Earl and Joanne Schaeffer, and many cousins. Parents-in-law Russ and Kathie Thompson of Brandon, MB. Jason was predeceased by grandparents Roy and Patricia Nelson, John and Cecilia Schaeffer and Uncle Allen Nelson. A Celebration of Jason's Life was held at Central United Church, on Saturday, December 14, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. with Rev. Craig Miller of Knox United Church officiating. Donations in memory of Jason may be made to the Tyler and Ashley Schaffer Trust Fund, c/o RBC Royal Bank, 740 Rosser Avenue, Brandon, MB, R7A 0K9, or any RBC Royal Bank branch. 35 Tow Operators were killed in 2013 Respect Tow Truck Operators, Slow Down and Move Over