Mr. Jason Charles "Jay" Cripe, 49, of Elkhart, was found passed away at his home on Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 2:30 pm. He had been experiencing some health issues in the recent past.

He was born in Clearwater, Florida on January 23, 1974 to the late Thomas Cripe and to Ms. Stephanie (Truex) Cripe, who still survives in Elkhart.

Along with his mother, Jay is also survived by his children Cameron Cripe, Lauren (Terrence Tucker) Cripe and Savannah (Devin) Tapia, all of Elkhart; his grandkids Anthony and Julian Tapia; his fiancée Brandi Deiber of Elkhart; his faithful Husky Nanook and his grand dog, Lola the Border Collie. Of course, Jay is also survived by a loving host of extended family and good friends, including several "brothers from another mother" and assorted fishing buddies; none of whom who have claimed to have caught anything smaller than 21 inches.

In accordance with Jay's wishes, no immediate services have been scheduled and a simple cremation is to take place with the help and assistance of Billings Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Elkhart. There are plans, however, for a memorial service sometime in the future.

Jay spent most of his adult life working in the RV industry, but he also spent some time in his earlier years as a camera operator at WSBT.

He was an avid aficionado of 60's and 70's Classic Psychedelic Folk Rock like the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, Country Joe and the Fish and Janis Joplin. Over a lifetime, Jay had amassed quite the collection of assorted ticket stubs, tee shirts and mementos from the countless different concerts he had attended throughout the years. He was also an active curator of the podcast "The New Notre Dame Nation", where Jay would discuss current issues, subjects and sports news relevant to the Notre Dame College scene.

He also enjoyed fishing, catching the latest season of "The Walking Dead" on Netflix and catching a round of golf at the old Christiana Creek Golf Course. He was a loving and doting father to both his children and his grandsons and always considered himself their greatest fan; oftentimes getting teased about being his (then) cheerleader daughter's biggest cheerleader! We can only imagine his "Dad Cheer" for his family:

S-U-C-C-E-S-S… that's the way we spell success…

I wish you luck and all the rest, with S-U-C-C-E-S-S !!!!

Gooooooo    KIDS!

Memorial donations can go to his children in care of his daughter, Lauren.

To the Family