Help Jason’s Mom Bring Him Home

Sydnee Schaller is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Nick and Heide Duerst.

Donation protected

Hi, all.

On August 11th, 2021, my stepbrother, Jason, passed away from COVID. He was only 24 and we are all devastated from this loss. Heide and Jessie, Jason’s mom and sister, are overwhelmed by the outpouring of love for both them and Jason. Heide and I have spent the last couple days meeting some of Jason’s closest friends down in Florida and they’ve all just solidified the Jason we all knew back home - Jason would have moved heaven and earth for his friends and family, right after getting a good prank or joke in to make them smile. He was a gentle giant and life will never be the same with his absence, but we know he’s up there looking over everyone and taking care of his sweet nephew in Heaven. He will be missed forever.

We obviously were not expecting this loss and were not prepared for everything that comes with it. If you are able, we’re asking for any kind of donation to help assist with the costs of being able to bring Jason home to his mom, get his apartment cleaned out and move all of his things back to his mom’s. We’ve also encountered an unexpected extended stay in Florida due to having to wait for the state to approve his cremation since he died from COVID. Heide is working on applying for FEMA to pay the costs, but has been informed that it could take 2+ years for them to reimburse the costs, so we are ending up having to pay out of pocket now and submit the bills for reimbursement later. We’re hoping to get $2,500 to cover the cremation, urn, moving his things home, setting up a celebration of life in the next few months, and any costs with the unexpected extended stay.

No matter how you’re able to help, whether it’s a donation or just sending lots of loving thoughts and prayers to Jason’s family, we appreciate it all. Thank you so much.

Rest In Peace, Big Hoss.

We love you so much, Cornbread.