Remembering Our Brother, Son, Friend & Loved One

Jason’s Journey

The Early Years

Jason’s College Days

I am deeply saddened to learn of Jason’s pass-ing. I didn’t know Jason particularly well,

and hadn’t seen him since college, but he was always someone I had tremendous affection for. He had a great spirit and a ton of heart. Seeing him around campus would always put a smile on my face. He was the kind of person you always rooted for and wished well. I hope the past decade had been good to him. He deserved the very best in his all-too-brief, but vibrant, life. I will have faith that he’s off to a better place now. I know those of us he left behind were privi-leged and graced to have known him. Greg Leitman

I went to Northwestern with Jason and lived in CRC with him my sophomore year. We

were mainly dorm buddies and while I did not know him really well, I will always remember that wonderful smile Jason had, a smile that matched his big heart. He was always super friendly and we often talked about our favorite movies and TV shows. He was a very special person and I will never forget how much joy he brought to the world. He will be sorely missed.

Josh Grossberg

I was lucky enough to know Jason at North-western and again out in Los Angeles, and

I never think about him without picturing his great big smile and infectious laugh. I have so many memories of arguing with him about superheroes, sci-fi, and movies, and watching him play hours of HeroClix with Todd Carney, yelling energetically with every move.His boundless enthusiasm for the things he was

passionate about is unforgettable, and although he was a shy person, his great heart, creativ-ity, and imagination always shone through. It’s

very hard to believe that he’s gone - Jason was unique, and we were all lucky to have him, even if only for a short time. We’ll miss you, Jason.

Anna Siri

I knew your son through Jason Kaifesh and Todd Carney when I worked with them

several years ago. I remember meeting Jason at Doug’s birthday party in 1999. Being a fellow geek, we had long conversations that would lead to fun spirited arguments over comic books, Star Trek and whatever else was going on at the time. Sometimes he would come over to my apartment to play a game called Heroclix, which we would play when we all could find the time. He was always fun to talk with and he will be missed greatly by a number of people including myself. I have fond memories of him and was very much saddened to hear of his passing. He was a very sweet soul and you should be very proud to have such a kind hearted son. He was completely wrong about people not remember-ing him. He was the kind of person that’s hard to forget. I hope that everyone’s wishes comfort you as much as they can in this difficult time. Please know that any of us would be more than happy to help with anything you may need. All you need to do is let us know how we can help.

“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” - Irish tomb-stone

Kathy Bugajsky

I’ll never forget the night that Jason sat next to me during a lecture at Caltech. The speaker made an assertion about the fabric

of space-time when Jason turned to me and an-nounced that the guy was dead wrong. “I don’t think that’s right,” he said, in a failed

attempt at a whisper that probably could be heard five rows away. “I’m sure that’s not right.” The speaker was Stephen Hawking. Jason was

no less confident. Wormholes existed, all right, and you weren’t

going to tell Jason otherwise. Warp drive was possible. There were countless alien species in the world. In fact, some of them were probably disguised as humans, sitting in that very lecture hall. Our universe is vast and infinite, and yet some-

how, it still seemed a cramped place for Jason’s imagination. That’s what I loved most about him: He had a sense of wonder about the world -- and other worlds, too -- that erodes from most people before they leave grammar school. Though we appeared to share little in com-

mon, Jason and I became immediate friends as freshmen at Northwestern because of our mutual love of Star Trek. The concrete walls of East Fairchild, along with some poor Radio Shack rabbit ears, meant that every episode took place in a snowstorm. But we watched them to-gether, dissected them, often argued over them. I loved Captain Kirk’s bravado and charisma. Jason thought he was overly romantic and reck-less. When they finally killed off Kirk in one of the movies, Jason was clutching my arm and shaking with so much excitement, I thought he was going to unhinge the entire row of theater seats. Jason could be a challenge, no doubt about

that. But I can’t think of another person who could put a smile on my face so quickly. Joy and enthusiasm seem to be shrinking commodi-ties in this world. Jason had enough to light up

whatever room he entered. He was stubborn when he thought he was right, and he usually was. He respected the dignity of every person he met and treated everyone with decency. In many ways, he served as my conscience during four years of collegiate growth and experimen-tation. I can’t think of anyone more appropriate to

play the “Good Side” of The Force. Jason had a savant’s memory for facts, fig-

ures, faces and names. He caught me in at least a couple of white lies, like when I told him I played high school football when I was really the basketball equipment manager. I always thought he’d make a great prosecutor. But that wouldn’t have interested Jason. Subjects like law were too mundane, too earthly for him. We lost him far, far too soon. That goes with-

out saying. I can’t help but think of all the ideas in his head, all the planets and battle scenes he was drafting, all the worlds he was creating when he’d appear to be in that creative zone of his. I wish he had more time to share them with us, and millions more. Maybe it’s not surprising that he left this world

because his mind was literally expanding beyond what his body could contain. I’m not a particularly spiritual person. I can’t

make any claims about what happens to us on the Final Frontier. But I just know – I’m sure of it – that Jason is out there in some dimension, shooting down tie fighters, laughing loudly, go-ing boldly. I miss you already, my friend, and I love you. Andy Baggarly

Jason is my beloved friend who I will always love and remember. Of the many, many wonderful memories I have, one in particu-

lar captures the madcap relationship we had. At one point when we were both living in Bur-bank , I became convinced that he and I would be the new Regis and Kathie Lee. I cajoled Ja-son into creating a demo video with me and we spent an afternoon taping a pretty ridiculous talk show segment. Although the video didn’t catapult us into stardom, we had so much fun laughing and sparring that day. I will be forever grateful that I had the opportunity to know Jason and I will cherish all the conversations and debates we had; the Balderdash games we played; the movies and TV shows we watched; and above all, every single moment we spent together in the 15 years that we were friends.

Amy Liu

I met Jason during our first week at North-western. We lived in the same dorm, and thanks to our last names being right next

to each other alphabetically, we ended up in the same orientation group. Even though we didn’t have many interests in common, Jason quickly became my best friend at school. I was attracted to the uniqueness of his charac-ter. I have never met anyone else so immune to peer pressure or persuasion of any kind. He was who he was. He liked what he liked. He spoke his mind. If you wanted to be sure to get a unique take on a subject, all you had to do was knock on Jason’s door. Even after we graduated, I would often call him up just to see what he had to say about the breaking news or sports story of the day. At Northwestern, Jason was always looking

out for me. I don’t think I would have ever registered for a class if he didn’t remind where to go and what time to be there. When we had early morning classes, he would wake me up with a thunderous knock at the door. I

would return the favor later on by nudging him awake whenever he fell asleep in class and started snoring. I will never forget the night that I was working on revising a paper that was due the next day. Something went wrong with my word processor and the whole pa-per was deleted. I was so frustrated and tired that I couldn’t imagine typing the whole paper back in again, and decided I would just go to bed and accept an “incomplete” on the paper. But while I slept, Jason took it upon himself to stay up and type the entire paper back into my word processor. That story sums up all that was great about Jason. He was caring and completely selfless. He never wanted to let anyone down. The world is a lonelier place without Jason,

but I will always cherish the 15 years of friend-ship we shared. Doug Cohen

Words cannot express my sorrow on the passing of Jason Coffee. Ja-son was one of the kindest, most

sincere and down-to-earth people I knew at Northwestern University. Jason and I were in the same dormitory together his freshman year. We took several classes together as well and were involved in many projects through our dormitory, CRC, along with Doug Cohen, Ja-son Kaifesh, Steve Cook, Andrew Baggarly, etc. My fondest memories of Jason, off the top of my head, include the following: 1) Every year our dormitory, the Communica-tions Residential College, would put on a talent show featuring the dorm’s residents singing, dancing, acting, etc. We called this talent show our annual coffee house. As a play on Jason’s surname, we decided to have Jason host it his freshman year and it was called “Coffee’s House”. Jason gladly accepted the role. He was a natural. Jason played the role of host and emcee to perfection -- he donned a tuxedo and rolled out the one-liners in between per-formances of the various students. I even sang a duet with him called “Coffee and Me” with

Doug Cohen playing piano. Silly stuff but fond memories. Jason was quite the talented enter-tainer. 2) Jason and I would always get into interesting sports debates, particularly baseball -- with Jason being a Braves fan and me being a Philadelphia Phillies fan. This was around the time period when the Braves beat Cleveland in the World Series and I know Jason was ecstatic over that. 3) I have Jason to thank for introducing me to the X-men. I would guess that he was looking forward to the new Wolverine movie coming out next year. 4) Most importantly, I remember his heart being sincere and very caring. At some point a relative of Doug’s passed away during our college years and Jason was there for him every step of the way helping him get ready for traveling home, making class arrangements, etc. Jason will surely be missed. Jeff Mauriello These photos were taken the day Doug Cohen and Amy Liu moved from LA to Boston

in 2001. I was there to help pack them up along with Jason, Jason Kaifesh, Todd Car-ney, and others. It was a time for reflection, and it was great to reminisce with everyone

that day about all the times we had shared. Jason was smiling, laughing, and full of joy, like I had always known him. In fact, I don’t think I had ever seen him any other way.

I know that your book is a collection of all the happy moments we shared with Jason, so I understand if this last photo may not seem appropriate. It wasn’t until later when I looked through my photos that I realized I had captured this shot of the tearful goodbye that day. Al-though Doug, Kaifesh, Amy, and Jason’s other close friends had always spoke of the size of his heart and his loyalty as a true friend, this was one of the rare times it showed through his always happy exterior. I was touched to be witness to it, and hope it will serve as a reminder of how much Jason cared for those he loved, and how much those who loved him will miss him.

Again, I can’t express the sorrow felt for the loss of your son. May he always be remembered in our hearts.

Gerry Holtz

I lived in CRC in ‘94-’97 and overlapped with Jason for part of that time. From the classic “I had three”

Burger King story, to the legend (often repeated though never proven) that he would break into a sprint whenever he started having story ideas about cyborgs, Jason’s enthusiasm for life and humor will always be part of many, many people. God speed, Jason.

Vince LaConte

Jason was a kind and wonderful soul whose cre-ativity, sense of humor, and imagination bright-

ened all of our lives. I’d do anything to sit down and have one more conversation with him, to hear one more story, and to revel in his wit and warmth. He

was a talented writer, a creative mind, and most of all, a dear friend. We will miss Jason here on Earth, but he will remain bright in our memories forever. Natalie Bortoli

I was a friend of Jason’s in Los Angeles. We used to play Heroclix together at Todd Carney’s house

every weekend. We got into a lot of arguments while playing that game, usually because he knew the game better than everybody else and was setting us all straight. Once, at a party, he gave his seat up so that I could have a place to sit. He was a kind, thoughtful and passionate person. Jason needn’t have worried. He was, is and will always be remembered.

Rachel Morris

Jason and I lived in the same dorm in college and were both part of the creative writing for the media program there, and so we spent a lot of time together throughout all our four years at Northwestern. He had a fertile imagination, and our tastes ran to similar realms. When you’re

in a small writing class with someone for two years, you get to know them on a different level, and I saw a limitless energy and optimism in Jason, where his mind would move to make connections others would neglect, where his creativity would multiply without boundaries, often in crazy direc-tions and brilliant places. He wasn’t one for small gestures; he thought in grand scale, and he had a heart that was equal to the task. We were all social misfits in some ways, and often that develops into a disquieting grumble, but not in Jason. No, he remained ever-faithful, always kind, and exces-sively gracious. He was, above all, good-natured.After ten years of distance between college and the present, names and faces drift away, the memo-ries of people and their personalities dissipate, and it takes some time to recall the past. Not so for Jason; when I would run into mutual friends, he was one of the people I’d ask about, and he’d pop up in my mind from time to time though it had been more than a decade since we’d talked. He’s unforgettable.Ms. Coffee, I hope you and your family find some solace in how great Jason was and how much everyone at CRC and in the creative writing program liked him. I felt fortunate to have called him my friend. Again, my condolences.

John Gary

When Jason was a college freshman, I was a sophomore living a few doors down. Some-times I would wake up early on a weekend morning, when most fellow students were still unconscious, and pass his closed door. From within, I could hear the rock sound-

track to Transformers: The Movie, and the sounds of Jason dancing energetically along. I never told him I could hear him, since he seemed to choose a time and a place that afforded a desired privacy, yet I could identify both with the object of his ardor and his mode of expressing it. That’s how I will remember Jason: with an inclination toward shyness that could never conceal his bound-less enthusiasm. We loved even those parts of him that he wasn’t comfortable sharing with us. We’ll never forget you, Jason.

Jeremy Morse

As you probably know, Jason touched the lives of every single personwho lived with him at CRC from

1993-1997. He was quite frankly the most beloved person at our dorm.It feels like so long ago, but Jason and

I started our LA adventure together after Northwestern. He and I and Doug and Jason Kaifesh all lived in our very reasonable 3-bedroom apartment on Hollywood Way in Burbank. We were roommates for about a year, and at a time when we were all trying to make sense of the world and figure out our next steps, we leaned on each other as the closest thing to day-to-day family.Retelling fond memories and stories of Jason

would make this message go on forever; we retold some of them last night as some of us got together in his memory.Jason had an unapologetic passion for

movies: he would go see a scifi or fantasy film on opening day and stay at the theatre all day, seeing the same film at least 3 times.I’ll always remember how he co-directed the

short film INFAMY with Doug, and I had the unfortunate task of “starring” in it. INFAMY was a horror film, I was the “victim” and to motivate my acting talent (there wasn’t much there), Jason chased me around a dark printers’

factory, yelling and screaming, in an attempt to “terrorize” me.I also remember when he and Mike first drove

out here in August of 1997, in the dark blue Volvo. While it took the rest of us a week to get here from Evanston, miraculously Mike and Jason made the trip from Georgia in a day and a half! He was that anxious to start working in the industry. (On another note, I’ll always remember how Mike spoke to my dad for an hour when he got to Burbank and assured him that their sons were living just fine.)I must admit, and I regret to say this, Jason

and I hadn’t spoken in a while since we had all moved out here. I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye when he left LA. That happens, and it’s nobody’s fault, but his impact on my life will never be forgotten.He was kind and decent and moral and

passionate and eternally young in his outlook on life. He was never bitter or mean or angry. He was respectful to everyone and respected by everyone.He was a good guy. I’m lucky to have known

him as long as I did.

Dan Lubetkin

Life After College