Jason "Jay" Chagnon

On June 12, 2020 Jason “Jay” Joseph Chagnon, 40, passed away.

Jay was born January 20, 1980 in San Diego, California. Jay grew up in New Jersey and Waxahachie, Texas. He received a degree in Political Science from Texas A&M University in 2001. On September 23, 2014, he married Dawn and together they have three boys, Layne, Barrett, and Stone.

Jay had a passion for all things music – listening, appreciating, creating, composing, writing, and performing. Jay truly had a heart and an ear for music. He was a drummer by trade, but could easily pick up a guitar or a bass and play with anyone. Jay could talk for hours about his favorite bands and always made sure to have plenty of extra instruments in his house, just in case people came over and wanted to jam.

Swimming was a huge part of Jay’s life. As a coach, it did not matter to Coach Jay whether you were the fastest swimmer or just learning, he would make you feel like a champion. Coach Jay impacted multiple generations of families and swimmers, starting from the time he was a swimmer through his time as coach. To Jay coaching was natural and second nature, and it extended beyond swimming – to so many he was a coach for life as well even after swimmers left his pool deck they never left his heart.

Jay is survived by his wife Dawn; his three sons, Layne, Barrett, and Stone; his father, Joseph; his siblings, Michelle, Nichole, Dan, and Rebecca; Nephews, Johnathan, Justin, Jackson, Jacob, JD, and Ben. Jay will also be remembered by his many friends, extended family, current and former swimmers, his co-workers, and so many more he impacted and came across. Jay was preceded in death by his mother, Patricia.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations in memory of Jay may be made to the GoFundMe created by his Hebron Hawks swim family (https://gf.me/u/x9ck5i) which will be used to establish and fund a trust for Jay and Dawn’s three boys.