Born in Williamsport, Jason graduated from Jersey Shore High School in 2015. He attended Clarion University of Pa. and majored in Accounting and Finance where he made Dean’s list every semester.

Jason’s true passion was for music. He began singing in elementary school and continued through college.

While at Clarion, Jason was a member of the Chamber Choir and performed around the state. Jason also performed in several plays at Jersey Shore High School and in the Williamsport Community Theater. Jason also had an incredible talent for playing musical instruments. He was active in several groups at Clarion including the marching band.

Jason was a member of the Clarion University Young Democrats and the Kappa Kappa Psi music fraternity.

Jason is survived by his mother, Lori McChesney-Poor, of Cogan Station, and his father, Jonathan E. Poor, of Harrisburg.

Jason touched many lives with his music and his personality. He was loved by many and will be missed by more.

A small family service is scheduled for Sunday, March 3 at 1 p.m. at the Robert Burns Funeral Home in Clarion, Pa. A life celebration is planned in the near future.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made the Clarion University Music Department.

The following remarks were presented by Sam Metcalfe during the Memorial Ceremony at the 2019 Northeast District Convention

During convention, brothers and sisters get to see just how vast of a reach we have. We see how many universities our organizations have an effect on, even noting that our crowds around the sessions, committees, and marketplace would be even greater by full representation by our chapters. As a whole, we come together and celebrate what we do as organization. As chapters, we put in directed effort to complete the needed tasks for our university bands. And as brothers, we have a love for music that drives it all. Jason was no exception to this, and his love for music was indeed exceptional.

Jason came to Clarion University without having ever been a part of a cohesive instrumental ensemble. He did however have an interest sparked in him which lead him to borrow an alto saxophone from the school. From there, he picked up each and every instrument that he could get his hands on. His efforts were never less than adequate, always learning at least a scale or simple piece for each instrument. Much of his free time was taken up by practice hours, frequenting the recently more quiet halls of Marwick Boyd, Clarion’s fine arts building. By his senior year, Jason had stuck with a handful of instruments that he had taken on as tools of musicianship to become more adept with than others. These notably included the trumpet with which he was a section leader in his third year of marching band, the bassoon in symphonic band for which he was the principle player, and upright bass in orchestra initially, but later moving to principle clarinet player. He also made his way into intercollegiate band on clarinet and was accepted to go again this year on bassoon, his favorite instrument. However, while these accomplishments are great, they barely scratch the surface of the musical portfolio that he had continued to build for himself. It was a common knowledge among Jason’s peers that he had come to own over thirty different instruments. Again, all of which he had learned to play in a basic sense at the very least. Some of the most eye catching included a didgeridoo, accordion, flugelhorn, and oboe.

His musicianship seemed to know no bounds. Growing up, he was actively involved in his choir and theatre community. Upon arrival at Clarion, he continued to grow musically into every choir group that he could be a part of. He joined the Chamber Singers his freshman year and competed with them during their international trip to Wales. Noted by the director of both choirs that he was a part of, Jason was the rock on which the bass section was built. His practice hours and work ethic were evident to anyone who had the pleasure of hearing him perform. He played a pivotal role while singing, and was also asked to conduct a piece in the upcoming spring concert.

Through all of his accomplishments already stated, the relationships that he made with his brothers and sisters were the most heartfelt by our organizations. Jason became an active brother the spring semester of his sophomore year and soon after became our music chair. He used his report time during meetings extremely efficiently, already knowing the business that needed to be said by the chair, but also giving us a fun music fact every week. Did you know that there is a McDonald’s in Sydney, Australia that plays classical music at night so that kids don’t loiter? We didn’t until Jason told us, and still don’t know how he found out. He also was often a valuable resource to the sisters as they grew to have any questions which he had experience with. His time spent in Marwick Boyd wasn’t all practice as he often spent time with brothers and sisters while waiting for the next ensemble practice or meeting. Jason never shied away from an opportunity to make casual music with others as well. During our junior year, a few brothers had been practicing for a battle of the bands event on campus when our bass player dropped last minute. We contacted Jason approximately twenty minutes before our scheduled sound check, and he was able to pick up the part immediately. Not only did he learn the parts we needed, but he also brought his bassoon with him. After we played a few songs with him on bass, he brought out the bassoon and played portions of a classical piece as a solo, then transitioned into Hey Baby with the band. He took a situation that could have put us out of the competition completely and made it in to a first place victory for our group.

It’s clear that Jason was a constant model for what a brother and musician should strive for. The drive he had for his favorite art and the effort he put into the relationships that he made set him apart from the rest. It will be impossible for our chapter to forget Jason, making it easier to try to walk in his footsteps in all that we do as organizations. We as brothers will reflect on who he was as a person every time we sing “This I know, if I must die, I am a brother of KKPsi.”