~ IN MEMORY ~
LTC - USAF Reserve
DL Capt. Jason Daniel Depew
January 13, 1980 ~ November 4, 2024
Today we commemorate the life of Delta Air Lines
pilot Captain Jason Daniel DePew, age 44.
Jason joined Delta Air Lines 02-08-2016.
He is survived by his wife Dr. Jennifer Michelle Bailey, and by his children
Bailey and Jason Jr., and by his parents and his siblings.
Please visit our PCN memorial site at
…..and the online obituary site at https://obits.serenitymeadows.com/obituary/jason-depew
….also at https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/name/jason-depew-obituary?id=56722772
Jason Depew Obituary
Obituary published by Serenity Meadows Memorial
Park Funeral Home & Crematory – Riverview, Florida
---Jason Daniel Depew, 44, of Lithia, Florida,
passed away on November 4, 2024, surrounded by family and loved ones at Tampa's
Pepin Heart Institute after an unexpected cardiac event. Jason was born on
January 13, 1980, in Provo, Utah, to Robert Ray Depew and Valerie Jean Kent
Depew, and spent most of his childhood in Loveland, Colorado. From a young age,
it was clear that Jason was born for the skies. During youth soccer games,
while all the other kids were chasing the soccer ball, you'd find Jason staring
up at the sky, watching (and identifying) the planes soaring overhead.
In high school, he participated in track and cross
country, played the bass clarinet in the concert and marching band, and the
baritone saxophone in the jazz band. He was a proud Eagle Scout, repairing
portions of the trail to Longs Peak (one of Colorado's famous 14,000+ foot
mountains) for his Eagle Project. He loved camping and spending time in the
mountains. He led the Loveland High School JROTC battalion and earned his
private pilot's license at the age of 17. Both propelled him toward his dream
of attending the United States Air Force Academy, where he continued to excel
as both a leader and a pilot, becoming a soaring (glider) instructor to other
cadets. At the Air Force Academy, Jason discovered the perfect nexus of his
dual passions, flying and people, when he earned his rating as a soaring
instructor pilot. Being a soaring IP set Jason on the path to mentoring others
throughout his life.
Jason took a break from the Academy to serve a
2-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Russia
and Belarus, where he became fluent in Russian. His belief in God and his core
values made him a man of integrity, kindness, service, and duty. He returned to
the Academy following his mission and graduated in 2004 with a B.S. in Computer
Engineering and earned the distinction of "Outstanding Cadet in
Soaring." After receiving his Air Force commission in the US Air Force,
Jason attended Undergraduate Pilot Training at Laughlin AFB in Del Rio, Texas. He went on to qualify in the B-1, U-28, and
E11A, with several deployments to the Middle East, Africa, and the Philippines,
flying 312 combat missions. He also served as an instructor pilot in the T-6.
During his Air Force career, he was stationed at Laughlin AFB (Del Rio, Texas),
Dyess AFB (Abilene, Texas), Ellsworth AFB (Rapid City, South Dakota), and
Hurlburt Field (Ft. Walton Beach, Florida). Throughout his Air Force career, he
modeled duty and continually invested in others by mentoring, teaching, and supporting
his fellow airmen. While building his Air Force career, he also earned a M.S.
in Human Factors from the University of Idaho. Jason was most recently assigned
as an Academy Liaison Officer (ALO), helping the next generation of Air Force
officers and pilots apply to the US Air Force Academy.
In 2006, Jason's routine dental check-up landed
him in the chair of Air Force dentist Dr. Jennifer Michelle Bailey. They fell
in love and were married on July 28, 2007 in Rapid City, South Dakota. In 2017,
Jason and family moved to the Tampa area, where they have resided since.
Through their 18-year marriage, they had 2 wonderful children (Bailey and Jason
Jr), supported each other's careers and dreams, traveled the world, and worked
together to build a life that allowed them to pursue their passions freely, the
greatest of which was time spent together as a
family.
He realized his lifelong dream of owning his own
aircraft in 2008 when he purchased a Cessna 170, leading to years of good
memories taking friends and family flying along the Florida coast. Jason
enjoyed the added challenge that his taildragger afforded, sometimes turning
over the rudder pedals to a student during taxi and using the inevitable ground
loop as an education opportunity. He later sought out other aircraft in which
to keep up his tail wheel endorsement. In 2023 Jason upgraded his Cessna 170 to
a Pipistrel Sinus motorglider. One of his greatest joys of late was teaching
his children to fly in their motorglider. Jason possessed an airline transport
pilot license in multi-engine aircraft as well as commercial privileges for
single-engine land and sea airplanes and gliders as well.
He was qualified as a flight instructor in
multi-engine and single-engine land and sea airplanes as well as gliders.
Additionally, Jason was a qualified instrument instructor. Jason possessed type
ratings in more than 5 aircraft types. In 2016, Jason left active duty in the
Air Force to become a pilot for Delta Air Lines, with the ambitious goal of
earning a type rating in every Delta fleet aircraft. Jason was well on the way
to his goal, having been a first officer of the DC9, B717 and A220. He advanced
to Captain and continued flying the A220, and most recently the B737.
Jason was also the host for the Delta ALPA
Podcast, supporting 17,000 pilots at Delta Air Lines. Combining his love for
flying and his passion for helping others, he helped co-found The Pilot
Network, a professional networking community for pilots. He helped grow the
network from 50 to over 50,000 pilots. He frequently wrote articles that guided
pilots on navigating a career and life in the industry, and helped organize and
host an annual conference of 2000 pilots, connecting them with employment
opportunities in the aviation industry. He has been instrumental in helping
thousands of pilots land their dream job. Inspired by his writing for The Pilot
Network, in 2019 Jason published a book about personal finance for pilots
entitled "Pilot Math Treasure Bath."
He was a two-time NAFI Master Certified Flight
Instructor with thousands of hours instructing in everything from turboprops
and jets to gliders and seaplanes. He loved every hour spent in the air and
found great fulfillment investing in others by sharing his vast aviation
knowledge and experience as a gifted teacher.
Jason is survived by his wife Dr. Jennifer Depew;
his children Bailey and Jason Jr; his parents Ray and Valerie Depew;
grandmother Yvonne Kent; siblings Kellie (Scott) Newman, Lori (Nick) Stockton,
Sandra (Joshua) Murphy, and Christopher Depew; father-in-law Dan Bailey and his
wife Becky Bailey; brother-in-law Andrew (Terri) Bailey; and numerous aunts,
uncles, nieces, nephews, and friends. He is preceded in death by his
mother-in-law, Rosemarie Bailey.
Visitation will be held at Serenity Meadows
Funeral Home, 6919 Providence Rd, Riverview, FL on Saturday, November 16, 2024
from 11 am – 1 pm. A memorial service will follow from 1 – 2 pm, and a Fly-in
and Celebration of Life barbecue will be held at Wimauma Air Park, 6505 FL674,
Wimauma, FL later that afternoon.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to make
a contribution to Paws N Pilots or EAA's Young Eagles Program, two charities
Jason loved (the latter of which took Jason on his first private flight when he
was a pre-teen)
