For Jason Myers’ family, his funeral is a time to mourn and a time to celebrate

Jason Myers was the tooth fairy. He was the tickle monster. He was the dessert of his family.

He was also the light of the room. He was a servant of God. He was compassionate, loving and the good news in the news, family members said.

“Wherever I go in my life, I’m going to take my dad’s love of fun, of people and of the Lord with me,” his 13-year-old daughter Lydia said.

Amid reflection, tears, God’s comfort and song, hundreds grieved and remembered Myers on Saturday during his funeral at Carmel Baptist Church in Matthews.

Myers, of Waxhaw and a meteorologist with WBTV, died in a helicopter crash along Interstate 77 Tuesday with Sky3 pilot Chip Tayag. He is survived by his wife, Jillian, and their four children ages 13-19.

“Whatever he was to the public, he was better than that at home,” Jillian said. “(He was) good-natured, sacrificially loving. No task was beneath him. He came from the school of gentlemen where he still opened the door for me.”

Jillian continued: “People talk about love languages. He was fluent in every single one of them. ‘I love yous’ were never left unsaid. Humble apologies were never withheld.”

Jillian’s dream: To be with Jason

Jillian spoke of the couple’s life together Saturday — a relationship that began when she was a year old and the two families were friends.

“Only a year apart, Jason and I were natural playmates,” she said. “Even before I was 5 we were already getting into mischief together.”

She told the story of when Jason cut her hair. Fixing it, she said, required her to get a boy cut.

“Jason would never own that haircut,” she said. “I remember crushing on him when I was 8.”

By the time she was 19, she knew she wanted to marry him.

Jillian said watching her husband become a father caused her to fall in love with him all over again. The moment the couple found out they were going to have a child, Jason worked two jobs — and did so for much of his life — so that Jillian never had to work.

He was the family’s math tutor and led the night-time tuck-in routine. He taught his sons how to maintain vehicles and took his daughters on date nights. He also put everything into being the family’s tooth fairy. He watched YouTube videos, learned how to fold tooth fairy letters and kept the four fairies — Ivory, Pearl, Wintergreen and Peppermint — going even when the children were growing out of the tradition.

“Yet, he still made time to pursue me,” Jillian said. “We actively dated each other every month. ... They were magical dates. “

Jason always understood her priorities. When she asked for the weather — he knew how to give her the forecast not in terms of numbers, but in terms of clothes and what she should wear.

“My childhood dream was for him to be mine,” Jillian said. “That dream came full circle.”

Dad ‘predicted the weather’ down to the minute

One by one, the couple’s children spoke of their father while their mom stood behind them with a hand on their back.

They talked about how he was a good man, how he loved his job and worked incredibly hard at it. Most importantly, though, they told how he loved his family.

“He was selfless, caring, compassionate, loving and so much more,” his oldest son, Andrew, said. “I love you, Dad.”

Andrew told stories of how they built a treehouse together, and about his dad going live on a TV broadcast from one of the family’s beach vacations.

He predicted (the weather) to the very minute,” Andrew said. “He also showed me how to love and care for others.”

Lilly, his oldest daughter, talked about her dad as a man of God and how he ensured God remained the center of the entire family’s life.

“He was one of a kind,” Lilly said. “He was the best dad ever and had such a profound impact. Instead of shedding tears, let’s celebrate his life. I love you Dad, and you will always be in my heart.”

Dad had the ‘prettiest smile’

Luke and Lydia told how their dad was active. Jason went white water rafting, biking. He played with his kids on their trampoline, tickled them, took them on trips to the NASCAR museum and was a decent pickleball player.

“What he did best was love people,” Luke said.

The family would joke that Jillian was the vegetables and Jason was the dessert of the family, mainly because Mom tended to be more responsible, Lydia said, while Dad would take them to eat Krispy Kreme doughnuts or ice cream at Waxhaw Creamery.

“He was the dessert (but) being the dessert was making sure we knew he loved us,” Lydia said.

She added: “He was always talking even when he was brushing his teeth. He had the prettiest smile in our family.”

“I love you, Buddy”

Jason Myers grew up in Union and Catawba counties and watched WBTV as a child. His career took him to Raleigh, Texas and Virginia before he came back home to the Charlotte area and WBTV in 2019.

On Saturday, his mother, Susan Myers, held her son’s clipboard that documented his forecasts.

“He packed so much life and job and love in 41 years,” Susan said. “I now have a hole in my heart. Tuesday morning, little did Glenn (Jason’s father) and I know when we were having our quiet time how the day would unfold. Jason would no longer be in our world, but in the arms of Jesus.”

Robert Myers, Jason’s younger brother, said the last thing Jason said to him was “Love you, Buddy.”

“Jason leaned on his heavenly father for strength,” Robert said. “We’re going to miss him so, so much. I love you Buddy.”

Giving thanks

Jason and Jillian Myers were married for nearly 20 years.

She took to Facebook on Thanksgiving and said she was thankful “that we do not grieve as those without hope.”

She wrote about the family’s faith and their hope in “knowing Jesus and that his resurrection proved that he overcame death.

“Because we know that to be true, we know that eternal life and the hope and joy it brings is Jason’s reality and the confidence of knowing — that is what we’re walking in and what is upholding us,” she wrote. “He was like no other. My better half in every way. (H)e loved me so incredibly well with every ounce of his being. So very much to give thanks for this Thanksgiving. We truly are experiencing the goodness of God today.”

Tributes continue to pour in

On Tuesday, people from across North Carolina shared their condolences for Myers’ and Tayag’s families.

Jillian, in a message on a GoFundMe page set up for Myers’ family, along with children Andrew, Lilly, Luke and Lydia, wrote her family “is overwhelmed” by the outpouring of love and support they have received.

“Jason was every bit as big-hearted, gracious, and kind as he appeared on your television screens, and he was larger than life at home,” she wrote. “He did so many things well, but he loved best of all. Jason anchored his life on his Christian faith, which informed and directed every decision he made. He never missed an opportunity to share with others the true source of his joy, and it’s that very hope that we’re clinging to now. To know him was to love him instantly, and we will miss him for a lifetime. Thank you for praying, loving, and holding our family today and in the moments ahead.”

As of Saturday midday, the GoFundMe page had raised $155,844 — the goal was $15,000 — with dozens leaving messages of support.

“Praying for your family in the days, weeks and months ahead,” Stephanie Lane wrote. “Although we never met Jason, we sure will miss him. He felt like a part of our family in a way, as he was in our living room on the TV each day.”

Molly Arnold wrote: “I was lucky to work with Jason at WRIC (Richmond, Va.) as a producer. He was the warmest and brightest light, and his positive energy never failed to raise everyone’s mood even on the difficult days.”