Jason Michael Brescia died on March 17. He was 51.

Jason was born on March 29, 1972 into an incredibly close-knit family, in the small Italian community of Stafford Springs, Conn. Like most children of the 70’s, he spent most of his childhood playing outside with cousins and neighborhood friends. Family dinner on Park Street was a strict routine and much care and love went into what was put on the table. This love of preparing food and eating together kept with him for the remainder of his life and there are many family members and friends who have enjoyed Jay’s love of cooking and hosting.

His parents also tended their own vegetables and treasured heirloom tomato seeds (and sacred family recipes) as if they were made of gold. This love of gardening stuck with Jason. He religiously saved seeds, maintained his greenhouse and weeded his tomatoes after work, even in the hottest weeks of summer.

Growing up, Jason was a part of a very tight-knit Italian family. For his entire childhood, he was always surrounded by loved ones: his parents Joe and Gloria, his big sister Michelle, his many cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and close friends. Being a typical Italian son, however, Jason was especially close with his mother. Gloria was the apple of his eye and vice versa. When Jason was 19 years old, Gloria was diagnosed with breast cancer. This frightening diagnosis bonded them more closely. They spent time together or spoke on the phone, every single day until Gloria passed in 2006.

As kids, Jason and his sister Michelle always had each other but there were also many other close cousins and friends vying for their attention. But as they grew up Jason and Michelle’s relationship transformed. When Michelle moved to Boston, Jason was still in high school. He loved to visit her, and her future husband (then boyfriend) Craig Miner, in their North End apartment. Jason attended community college, but wasn’t wild about accounting and spent a majority of his time fishing local creeks and streams for trout.

After Michelle and Craig moved to Martha’s Vineyard, Jason soon followed. His connection to the Island was immediate. He loved fishing, his community of friends and being close to Michelle. Michelle and Craig had begun their own family, and Jason became proud uncle to Max and Avery.

Jason also loved that he could work outside and began shingling. He started Old School Shingling with his good friend Mike Sullivan. After a few years of doing the rental shuffle, he bought a home in Oak Bluffs.

A few years later, he adopted a boxer puppy named Bosco, and for the next 14 years those two became inseparable. Anyone driving past Jason’s truck knew it was him because Bosco’s profile was always in the passenger seat.

When Bosco was still a pup, Jason met his future wife Corinna Black. Although it was unclear who she found more charming, Jason or the puppy, the couple felt an immediate connection and were inseparable from the moment they met.

Corinna grew up in a family that loved the outdoors and Jason joined them on family camping trips to Maine. One of the first times he hung out with the entire Black family was on a 10-day canoeing trip down the Allagash river. Those idyllic days of floating down the river, catching rainbow trout, watching moose eat just a few feet away and cooking meals over a fire, sealed the deal. Thus began a long tradition of family trips to Maine — camping in the summer, ice fishing in the winter.

In April of 2006 Jason and Corinna welcomed their son Walker Joseph Brescia into the world. This was just eight months after losing his mother Gloria, so having a new baby helped ease the pain. Jason and Corinna quickly indoctrinated Walker into the family tradition of loving the outdoors and brought him on many camping adventures. Jason also loved sharing his passion for music with Walker. From a very early age Walker could sing to an impressive variety of artists, from Steve Earle to AC/DC.

In 2013, Jason and Corinna welcomed a daughter, whom Jason named Rosalee after a beloved bluegrass song. Seven-year-old Walker and a baby daughter to dote on, completed the family. Ten very happy years followed. There were too many gatherings, adventures and special memories to ever be able to truly capture how special those years as a family of four were to Jason and Corinna. It can be said, however, that even though they had no way of knowing their time together would be cut short, they loved their life together.

Parenting, while managing jobs and the rest that life has to offer, isn’t always easy. Still, Jason and Corinna never lost sight of how blessed they were to have each other, two beautiful children, close-knit family on both sides and an incredible network of friends.

We are all absolutely reeling from this loss. It is unclear if it will ever make sense. When it feels most unbearable, we will cling to each other and the thousands of happy moments we enjoyed together and try to be grateful.

There will be a celebration of life on Saturday, April 27 at the Agricultural Hall in West Tisbury from 4 to 7 p.m.