Jason Keone Park is a beloved father, husband, son, brother, cousin, and friend. As his mom says, Jay was, is, and always will be “a heartbeat.”  

This page is intended to gather our aloha for Jay and for his family: his wife, Cobey, and their four kids, Noah Austin (20), Jacob Teague (18), Emma Skye (16), and Ava Gray (8).

From his youngest days, Jay was fiercely loyal. The son of a working single mom, he learned to love deeply, to be kind, and to care for others above himself. Cousin Neenz says he was always “good--ethereal kolohe kine good.” Even as a boy, he was growing to be a guy who could make you laugh and whom you could always rely upon.

Jay entered Kamehameha at 7th grade. Right off the bat, he made countless friends who saw him as cool and talented, yet humble and caring. His class of ’92 classmates voted him to be the male homecoming rep that first year. Jay’s smile and warmth was like the sun. He loved bodyboarding, drawing, reggae, and joking around with his buddies. Teenage years are full of teasing, but Jay always made sure the jokes were all in good fun and didn’t hurt anyone’s feelings. He had a knack for turning a tense moment around and having everyone laughing together instead of at one other. The kinds of quotes he would pull from his growing knowledge of reggae music always seemed to have something to do with lifting up “one love” that could connect people.

Basketball became a big part of Jay’s life in high school and later in college. He worked hard and played fair, never seeking glory for his own sake. He was always about the team, and his teammates at Kamehameha became like brothers, true lifetime friends. He was the kind of guy who would do anything for a friend and who would never let one of his boys stand alone. His friends treasure the day-to-day moments of connection with Jay, like early morning carpool rides up to Kapālama, or grabbing doughnuts from Liliha Bakery before school and talking story in the parking lot.

Jay spent his first year of college at Loyola Marymount University in LA, along with a whole bunch of his high school classmates. Although he was only at LMU for a year, he forged some lifelong friendships there, too.  In 1993, he returned to finish his studies at UH Mānoa, during an important historical time for the lāhui Hawaiʻi. He took Hawaiian language at UH, even getting up early for 7:30am classes! With classmates and new friends, he continued playing basketball every weekend at UH Lab and also began paddling with Healani Canoe Club. The guys remember him in his college days as “a deep thinker” and “a gentle soul,” but unafraid to fight someone if they disrespected a friend.”

Jay was the first of his Kamehameha c/o ʻ92 classmates to be hired into the Honolulu Fire Department. Nine others would eventually follow, and Jay led the way. For many years, he worked at Station 4 in Liliha, alongside classmate Kea Paiaina on the same battalion and same watch. Even in his HFD days, Jay continued playing in the basketball leagues as well as 6am weekly pick-up basketball games in Kakaʻako organized by a few firemen. He moved up the ranks from Firefighter 1 to Engineer and eventually to Captain. Jay was the kind of Captain that risks his life, even if you just stole from him. A true hero. The heroic acts were also in the day-to-day ways he took care of his crew, along with their safety and training, all the administrative duties, and maintaining the equipment.

Before entering HFD, when he was younger, Jay had worked summers under his uncle at KPT in the maintenance department. Those years introduced him to everything from painting, carpentry, and plumbing. He also worked for his cousin, Neenz, in maintenance for a year honing his skills. Once in HFD, he continued honing his plumbing skills, continuing to learn and eventually taking over the business of his former captain, Paul Kamakura, from Station 25. The same work ethic he applied in the rest of his life also characterized his approach to his plumbing business. He was a perfectionist who wanted to do the best job possible, as well as to leave the place cleaner than when he and his crew got there. He enjoyed doing work for Hawaiian-serving organizations, like Hoʻokuaʻaina and Waiwai Collective.  And on every job, he was always concerned that the client or fellow sub-contractors were happy with the work and were having a good day. He was making people smile until the end. His colleagues, like Kimo Kai, say of Jay “you couldn’t know a better & more kind person. He always had such a calm & cool demeanor, yet competitive & strong-willed.”

As much energy as Jay put into his work and his friendships, his family meant the most to him. Every one of his friends will tell you that they did not know anyone more committed to his wife and kids than Jay. He worked incredibly hard for them. Around October 2020, Jay was told he would have only a few weeks left to live. He stretched that out to four months, so he could have more time with the ones he loved most, the ones who meant everything to him.  It is because of the ways he devoted himself to providing for his family that we his friends—his brothers and sisters—ask one another to pitch in and help support the ʻohana that Jay made.