Jason Stuart Haslam, a former sports editor for The Temple News, died Saturday morning in Bethesda, Md. He was 28.
He was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor more than four years ago, while still a student at Temple. Despite it, he returned to school, writing for TTN and having fun. After graduating in the winter of 2004, Haslam got a job writing for the Bucks County Courier Times. They, too, were moved enough by Jason’s presence to devote a column on Sunday to his passing.
Several current TTN staff members had the opportunity to meet Jason, a couple worked closely with him. For news editor Tyson McCloud, he was the first face he saw in the news office.
An email was sent to TTN staff Sunday morning. In it, adviser John Di Carlo – also a former sports editor and member of Temple’s Class of 1998 – mentioned his own relationship with Jason.
“When Jason was diagnosed four-and-a-half years ago, he was not given the most promising prognosis, but you would have never known it,” Di Carlo wrote. “He returned to school, to The Temple News, graduated, and moved on to his job at the Courier Times. He was always smiling. He never asked anyone to feel sorry for him, and he was never scared. And he never failed to make us laugh. Jason was one of the kindest, funniest and brightest people I’ve ever known. He was a good friend to me, and I love him.”
The last article he wrote for TTN was a men’s basketball piece on what he called a “cathartic 53-52 victory over Villanova.” He spoke to then-basketball coach John Chaney and Villanova coach Jay Wright and looked at the future of Temple basketball.
“When you enter the drafty halls of the Palestra,” he wrote, “reputation, streaks, and all other factors get thrown out the window.”
He was born Feb. 9, 1979, in Abington, Pa. He is survived by his father, Bruce; his brother, Kevin; his sister, Kristy Lemmon; his grandmother, Connie; two nephews; one niece; and his longtime girlfriend Yoonhe Lee.
A viewing will be held, Wednesday, Dec. 5, from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the Wetzel and Son Funeral Home with a funeral to follow. A cemetery service will be held at Whitemarsh Memorial Park..
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his memory to the National Brain Tumor Foundation or the SPCA of Montgomery County.
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