Photo Credit: Judy Picetti

Photo put on the front of Jason Picetti's California Standards for the Teaching Profession Portfolio

On Thursday morning, Oct. 13, La Entrada math teacher Jason Picetti passed away peacefully after four years of battling ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s disease. He put on amazing fight for life, holding that “every moment matters always,” the slogan he developed after receiving the news four years ago.

Jason, a musician, husband, father and unaffected spirit, is widely known and famous in the Menlo Park community. Everyone who was close to him has been touched by the story of his survival and strength. Even in the worst of times, his wife Fehmeen Picetti pointed out that, “what never changed was his personality. He is an amazing human being.”

A memorial to Jason on Saturday, Oct. 22, will be held in the La Entrada gym from 3 to 5 p.m.

“He would want to have a whole Jason-centered event,” said Fehmeen. “We decided that location, not only because it was free and because there will be a whole lot of people, but because this is where he would want it. He joked that he wanted to be buried at La Entrada because for him, this is home. He has a legacy here.”

The memorial is open to all who want to attend. There will be a slideshow and speakers from different parts of his lifetime– childhood friends, a doctor, Fehmeen, teachers, and students–, along with an open mike time for anyone to share their love and memories in his honor.

Fehmeen described some of her favorite memories of her husband, setting the tone for this Saturday.

“He was so creative. He was a great writer and a great thinker and so quick witted. It’s going to be hard to ever find anyone like him. He really loved me. He never once said anything unkind to me while we were together and I said really unkind things to him. You know, typical husband-wife fighting. Never. It’s going to be difficult for me to ever find someone who will love me unconditionally like he did.”

When Picetti was diagnosed, he and Fehmeen had recently gotten married and were expecting a baby girl.

“It felt like overnight he got sick, like the perfect life I had fell apart in 24 hours,” said Fehmeen. “In the end, he suffered a lot from pneumonia. At a certain point, he said ‘I don’t want to do these things anymore.’ I think that truly was the definition of courage.”

She recalled some of her last few moments with him.

“Jason and I got a chance to say goodbye at the hospital. I got to say a lot of the things I wanted to say and one thing I told him was, ‘You are such a narcissist, Jason. You are always thinking about yourself. And you’re worried that there is going to be a void in this world if you’re not here. Trust me, Emma [their daughter] is going to fill that spot, because Emma is a mini you.’ Everything about Emma is Jason. All the things I love about her, those are Jason’s characteristics. Her creative energy and her charisma and how smart she is and how verbal she is, that’s all Mr. Picetti. So I’m going to have Jason right there with me all the time.”

Emma, who is three-and-a-half years old, was named using the initials of his slogan, “Every Moment Matters Always.” She lost her grandmother last August, who was living with them during that time, and now her father. However, Fehmeen said, “Her whole life is documented on his blog ‘Adventures of ALS Boy.’ And he is half way done with his book, which is a memoir to Emma. I hope to publish it if I can finish it and do it justice.”

Many colleagues and friends also shared different memories they had with him.

“He wasn’t just a friend, but an inspiration for me,” said La Entrada art teacher Janet Gregori.

“Jason was always passionate about whatever he was into, but when he started teaching, you could tell he had found his calling,” said Marci Sheeran, Jason’s friend from UC Davis and former roommate when they lived in San Francisco’s Sunset District. “He was head over heels in love with it and that is not an exaggeration.”

All of this year’s 2012 seniors from La Entrada got the opportunity to be Mr. Picetti’s students during his final year of teaching Algebra I in 2008.

“Mr. Picetti’s influence went far beyond the school curriculum,” senior Kimmie Glass explained, “Not only did I learn Algebra, but about what matters in life.”

One quality that stuck with students most was his love of music and comedy.

“Some of my fondest memories were watching him behind the keyboard showing us all of the hilarious sounds it can make,” said Max Goldenstein.

“The random music-related questions at the end of Mr. Picetti’s worksheets were always funny,” said Therese Regonini. “I still remember learning who Bun E. Carlos from Cheap Trick is. To this day I laugh every time I think of that name.”

Even fellow La Entrada math teacher, Diane Campbell, noted his funny, free-spirited side. “He and I laughed about so many things all the time.”

Once these students, friends, and family members heard about his death, Mr. Picetti received hundreds of wall posts on Facebook expressing their gratitude and love for him.

“I really want to thank the community,” said Fehmeen about the outpouring of love and support. “That has always been important to us. They have given us so much, tangible and intangible. I want them to know we are truly grateful. I could never put that in a thank you note or even express it now.”

“If you had asked me three years ago why this happened, I would not have known. But now, I think we have touched a lot of lives. People will never forget this and will hopefully live their lives in the same way he did.”

Pictured with his daughter