Jason Echevarria
Born on January 3, 1972 in Fort Benning, GeorgiaDeparted November 27, 2023 in Melbourne, Florida
Jason Echevarria, 51, of Melbourne Village, Florida, passed away suddenly on Monday, November 27, 2023, at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, Florida.
He was born January 3, 1972, at Fort Benning, Georgia, and was raised primarily in Brevard County, graduating from Melbourne High School in 1990. He was a member of the Mel-Hi Band, playing trumpet and French horn. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the United States Navy and had recently retired in 2020 after 30 years of faithful service to his country. He also earned a degree in Mass Communications from Coastline College.
Jason is survived by his beloved wife Cathy Echevarria, whom he married in a tiny ceremony in Melbourne Beach as things were shutting down due to COVID-19; son Jeremy Echevarria of Rio Rancho, NM; daughter Keenan Jackson (Cory) of Melbourne; mother Margaret Seguna (Edward) of New Smyrna Beach; father Alberto Echevarria (Chris) of Las Cruces, NM; grandmother Aletha McIntire of Winston-Salem, NC; siblings Elizabeth Fernandez (Charlie) of Miami; Amber Echevarria of Raleigh, NC; Sam Echevarria (Derek Janisch) of the Netherlands; Mandy Echevarria (Keith Conner) of Vero Beach; step-siblings EJ Seguna of Florida and Tia Gius (Gannon) of New Smyrna Beach; stepdaughters Allison Burnsed of Orlando and Laura Burnsed of Tallahassee; father-in-law and mother-in-law Bill and Carol Gardenour of Caledonia, MI; sister-in-law Karen Koedam (Kevin) of Hastings, MI; and his beloved young grandchildren Jameson and Bailey Jackson of Melbourne, whose short memories of their “Bumpa” will live on in photos and videos. In addition, he is survived by many loving aunts, uncles, cousins, nephews, and a niece. There are so many special friends but his best man for the wedding-that-wasn’t was to be Jeremy Mabe.
His Naval career led him across the globe, including 17.5 years aboard 8 different ships (USS Prairie, Sacramento, Rainier, Pinckney, Boxer, Antietam, Bunker Hill, and Iwo Jima). He chased down deserters for two years out of Naval Station Great Lakes, IL. He was stationed at NSA Headquarters, Fort Meade, MD on 9/11. He entered the Navy as a Boatswain’s Mate but was later selected to be a Cryptologic Technician. He advanced to Senior Chief and commissioned to officer, ultimately achieving the rank of Chief Warrant Officer 4; “almost a unicorn,” as he said. He had many stories to share from his vast experiences and reveled in telling them.
Jason was an uncommonly intelligent man who enjoyed teaching others, and he frequently offered “unsolicited advice” whether it was appreciated or not. This was directed toward co-workers, supervisors, as well as family and friends. It didn’t matter if someone was going to get mad; if you were not doing the right thing, or if he saw a problem or better solution, he would let you know. He would also help anyone with anything. He went above and beyond to be a friend to all.
He loved the challenge and excitement of adventure and that included sailing. From a young age, his grandparents took him sailing. That encouraged him to live aboard his beloved sailboat Wakuu for many years at Fiddler’s Cove Marina in San Diego, where he made numerous lifelong friends. He also loved to travel to new places. While his career took him to places like Singapore and Hong Kong, he preferred organizing his own trips where he could plan fun and interesting pit stops along the route using ideas from Roadside America and Atlas Obscura. He took Cathy on a 4,000 mile, two week, whirlwind car tour while they were dating simply because he wanted her to share in the awe that is the western U.S.A. They also traveled to Europe to visit Keenan and Cory, and spent two weeks on the island of Grenada last year. He had so many plans to continue traveling the world with Cathy that were quieted on November 27; however, his final trip will occur when his ashes are scattered at sea by one of the U.S. Pacific Fleet ships on which he served, per his wishes.
His varied interests included his Cuban, Scottish, and Southern heritage, outdoor activities, diving, playing bar trivia, riding Cosmic Rewind at Epcot, SpaceX launches, video games, Depeche Mode music, and reading science fiction and history. He was passionate about debating politics, the Constitution, cheese, military life, the extent of Epstein’s client list, and countless other topics. He knew a lot about a lot of things.
Jason was a man who thoroughly enjoyed his life, his family, and his many friends he made along the way. He adored being a Bumpa to his 3 year old grandson and infant granddaughter, and the job suited him very well. Jason enjoyed keeping in touch with former classmates, co-workers, and friends through social media as well as making them laugh or roll their eyes when he sent them their daily memes. He wants to remind everyone that 1) Epstein didn’t kill himself, and 2) You have other choices; you don’t have to keep voting for the same two bozos.
A Celebration of Life will occur on Monday, December 11, 2023 beginning at 10:30 AM at Suntree United Methodist Church, followed by Full Military Honors at Cape Canaveral National Cemetery at 2:30 PM the same day. Donations in his honor are suggested to: SailFuture.org, iEmpathize.org, or OutwardBound.org. The family thanks you for loving Jason as much as they did.
“The sail, the play of its pulse so like our own lives: so thin and yet so full of life, so noiseless when it labors hardest, so noisy and impatient when least effective.” – Henry David Thoreau