Jason Michael Reza, 43, died unexpectedly at home with his sister and niece in Upper Darby, PA on May 18, 2023.  Jason was born on October 3, 1979 in McKeesport, PA and grew up in the Columbia, SC area.

Jason, aka Scooby, was a loving, funny, kind-hearted person, who struggled with bipolar disorder. He is survived by his daughter, Leah Reza of Lexington, SC;  His mother, Janet Bathgate of Columbia, SC; his sister, Stephanie McLaughlin of Upper Darby, PA and The Villages, FL; his sister, Lori Reza of McKeesport, PA; his niece, Katie McLaughlin of Upper Darby, PA; his niece, Vala Crum and grand-nephew, Kenny of Duncannon, PA; and his daughter's mother, Angela Cole of Lexington, SC, who was his bestie for life.   Jason attended Dutch Fork High School and obtained his GED in 1998 without studying on his first try.

Jason very rarely met a stranger. He enjoyed cooking and built his career in restaurant fine dining. He planned on opening his own restaurant one day. Jason loved the outdoors, camping, and cooking out. He specialized in barbequing. He spent a lot of time collecting recipes and journalizing his menu and restaurant ideas. He often tried out new recipes on his family and we usually loved them. Jason was beyond proud of his daughter, nieces, and grand-nephew and their milestones and accomplishments. He enjoyed spending any type of family time together, especially with his grand-nephew since living in PA, helping out around the house, lovingly bantering with his sister, complaining about the family pets (but loving on them all the time), chatting up family and friends, and watching educational shows about cooking, history, self-improvement, and spirituality. Jason was a blackbelt in Karate and considered his karate instructors, Billee Purvis and Lola Banks of Columbia, SC, pseudo-parents.

Jason's ashes will be buried in Monck's Corner, SC with our maternal uncle, Robert Bathgate, in mid-July with a private memorial service.  The memory of his warm hugs, laughter, and love will be remembered forever and a day. In lieu of flowers or gifts, donations can be made to the NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) in Baltimore, MD.