We celebrate the life of Jason L. Ridings, 49, who died on November 7, 2021. Born November 12, 1971 in Houston, he was the son of John and Shirley Ridings. When he was young, the family moved to Sealy where he and his brother, Chris, enjoyed the outdoors, attended school, and made many life-long friends.

He graduated from University of Houston with a BS in microbiology and worked as a surgical tech, but he found his passion as a chef. He entered the hospitality business, working on the Mississippi riverboat, the Delta Queen, eventually coming home to Houston to hone his culinary skills at various hotels and restaurants including the Omni, the Warwick Hotel, Inn at the Ballpark and Rosehill Manor Bed & Breakfast in Fredericksburg, TX. As the sous chef at Bistro Le Cep, he met the love of his life, Kate in 2001.

Kate and Jason were married in 2003 and welcomed their son, Jakob, in 2007. Jason retired as a chef in 2008 when his lung disease took a downturn. He turned his skills to rebuilding classic cars, and then to website design; and focused on being a dad, taking Jakob to scouts, teaching him to play baseball and sharing his love of Batman and Star Wars.

He also started Jason's Journey on Facebook, a journal of sorts to document the good, bad and the ugly of a terminal disease. It was a way for Jason to share what was going on with his health to family and friends, help him cope with the progression of his disease, and bring a little hope and humor to others who are fighting chronic or terminal diseases. And in turn, it provided him with a growing community that was in his corner cheering him on through treatments and his daily life as he continued to fight his lung disease.

Jason enjoyed traveling and his favorite places to visit were Vancouver, Lake Tahoe, Skootamatta Lake, Alaska, Wyoming, Boston, Pittsburgh, and the annual family reunion in Giddings, TX. He had dreamed of traveling overseas to several different countries to soak in the history, art, and architecture.

Jason loved reading and researching and was always learning new things. He was good at practically everything he tried because he was both analytical and artistic. He had played the guitar since he was a teen, and picked up drumming as an adult. His favorite music was 80s rock and 3-chord punk. He had also played alto saxophone in school.

Jason was an animal whisperer, and could befriend any creature that crossed his path. Kate always joked that in his former life he must have been a Disney princess. He loved wolves; and he rescued and raised several wolfdogs throughout his life.

Jason is survived by his wife, Kate; son, Jakob; parents, John and Shirley; brother, Chris; sister-in-law, Julie; and niece, Gabby, along with many aunts, uncles and cousins.

A Celebration of Life will be at 1 p.m., Saturday, Dec. 11 at Northwoods Presbyterian Church, 3320 Cypress Creek Parkway, Houston 77068. The service will be streamed on Northwoods' Facebook page. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made in Jason's memory to Saint Francis Wolf Sanctuary, 6731 Pavlock Road, Navasota TX 77868. www.saintfranciswolfsanctuary.org .