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Subject: Time to show some support.. www.coolrunningcom/major/08/barnes

Author:
3D

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Date Posted: 14:14:10 10/16/08 Thu

LOWELL -- Jason Barnes went out for a run the morning of the day he died.

So it's only appropriate that when his friends and co-workers wanted to hold a fundraiser to benefit the education fund established for Barnes' young son, they decided on a road race.

If Barnes' unexpected death last October wasn't enough of a blow to his family and friends, he left a 4-year-old son, Dylan, who is recovering from two brain surgeries to remove brain tumors.

Dylan, now 5, was 16 months when the first tumor was discovered. His parents, Jason and his girlfriend, Dana Ashton, noticed Dylan was sleeping too much and they were having a hard time waking him.

The tumor was removed at Children's Hospital, but it returned and he underwent surgery again in November 2006. He has been fine since then, though his peripheral vision has been affected.

"He came through it like a trouper," said Hugh Barnes', Jason's father and Dylan's grandfather.

But as Dylan's health improves, he faces a future without his father. Jason Barnes, who lived in Lowell and was a corrections officer at MCI-Concord for eight years, died last Oct. 26 at the age of 29 from what his father said was ruled as acute intoxication.

"He made an error in judgment," Hugh Barnes said of his son. "It was a bad decision. It's a shame because he was healthy as a bull."

Jason Barnes grew up in Waltham and was a high-school football and wrestling star before he moved to Lowell after he became a corrections officer. He was a Marine who was activated in December 2001 with the reserves before being honorably discharged in 2005.

Regardless of the circumstances of his death, Barnes' son is still without a father and facing a difficult financial future.

That's where the road race comes in.

Shaun Cremin of Lowell, a friend of Jason and a sergeant at MCI-Concord, is planning the 5-kilometer race for Sunday, Nov. 2, starting at 11 a.m., at the Lowell Elks on Old Ferry Road.

Hugh Barnes said his family is overwhelmed by the generosity Jason's friends and co-workers at MCI-Concord have shown.

"It's fantastic that they'd do something to help ease Dylan's pain and give him a solid chance of having a good education," he said. "It's a real show of support from the guys in Concord, and not just financially. They've really supported us in a big way, and we still consider them family."

Pre-entry for the Jason Barnes Memorial 5K Road Race is $20; the fee is $25 the day of the race. Mail checks to Jason Barnes Memorial, 63 Shawmut Ave., Lowell, MA 01851. For more information on the race, go to www.coolrunningcom/major/08/barnes.

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Replies:

Subject	Author	Date
Re: Time to show some support.. www.coolrunningcom/major/08/barnes	jason barnes (sad)	23:29:11 08/12/12 Sun