GILFORD –Jason Fopiano, 43, died on the morning of Friday, November 13, 2020, due to complications related to Multiple Sclerosis, at Lakes Region General Hospital in Laconia. He was at peace and comforted by his wife Abby, his daughter Roslyn, his mother Shirley, his father Stephen, and his sister Nikki, in the days before he passed.
Jason, often known to friends as “J” or “Fopi,” was born on August 10, 1977, in Stoughton, MA, and grew up in Marshfield, MA.
From a young age, Jason was an avid outdoorsman and loved spending time in the mountains. When he was still in grade school, Jason and his dad Stephen would leave the South Shore before 5 a.m. for the drive north, always eager to snag first chair at Attitash or be among the first hikers up a trail in New Hampshire’s Presidential Range. They made a goal of hiking all 48 of the state’s 4,000 footers and achieved it together before Jason’s 21st birthday. The hike Jason remembered most fondly started off the Kancamagus to the Bond Cliffs and Mount Bond, where he and his dad slept on a tent platform, shared spaghetti and enjoyed a lighting storm before heading on to the Zealand Hut the next morning.
Back at home, Jason’s mom Shirley would be ready with special meals for her dear son, who she called her “miracle baby.” His favorite: her famous homemade chicken parmesan. Their mutual love of food and sharing silly stories of the day continued through to the last year of his life.
Jason enjoyed his share of shenanigans during his high school years, jumping off the bridge at Humarock Beach with teenage friends and illicitly applying his mountain climbing skills to the chimneys of local homes. He graduated from Marshfield High in 1996, and the music of that era—Pearl Jam, Weezer—remained his favorite, though he also had a soft spot for Bob Seger and the Grateful Dead.
After high school, Jason headed to Penn State, where he majored in chemical engineering, introduced the college’s Outing Club to his favorite hikes in the Whites, and got hooked on Big 10 football.
He later enrolled in graduate school at the University of New Hampshire, earning a master's degree in geochemical systems. He was employed as an environmental engineer in the private sector before more recently working as a regulator for New Hampshire’s Department of Environmental Services.
Jason made many good friends in grad school and it was at UNH that he met his future wife, Abby Thompson. The couple married in 2011 and lived in Barrington, New Hampshire, for many years before moving to Gilford, Abby’s hometown, in 2019.
Abby and Jason fell in love on grad school ski trips to Attitash; became engaged in a gondola at Heavenly in Lake Tahoe, California; were married during a weekend blizzard in the White Mountains; honeymooned in Banff; and welcomed their daughter on a snowy February morning in 2017. Jason was diagnosed with MS while still in his 20s, but didn’t let the diagnosis stop him from remaining active outdoors. Though hiking had become difficult by his 30s, Jason was able to continue biking and downhill skiing much longer, enjoying the views, the fresh air and the very steepest slopes—as well as the well-earned cold beer waiting at the bottom of the hill.
Travelling widely, usually spending time in the mountains, was a top priority during the 15 years Jason and Abby spent together. They downhill skied across New England, as well as in the Rockies, the Sierras, and the Cascades. Each year they looked forward to an international trip, visiting Ireland, France, Spain, Scotland, and—for Jason’s 40th birthday—Iceland, where they snowmobiled up a glacier and soaked in volcanic hot springs.
Jason leaves behind his wife of the past 9 years, Abigail Thompson Fopiano, and his daughter, his “shining star,” Roslyn Jennings Fopiano, 3, of Gilford. He is mourned by his father, Stephen Fopiano of Saugus, MA; his mother, Shirley Fopiano of East Greenwich, RI; his sister, Nicole Fopiano and nephew, Lochlan Murphy of North Providence, RI; and his brother, Stephen Fopiano Jr. of Murfreesboro, TN. Other beloved extended family live along the South Shore of Massachusetts. His loss is also grieved by the entire extended Thompson family, who will remember Jason in happy moments relaxing at Welch Island on Lake Winnipesaukee and at Bear Rock Road in the New Hampshire’s North Country, two of his favorite spots.
He is now on his forever journey to the mountains.
There will be no calling hours.
A Celebration of Life will be delayed to a time when we can all be together. Our intent is to honor and remember Jason at a memorial site in his beloved Mount Washington Valley.
Please address condolences and remembrances to Abby and Roslyn Fopiano at 615 Cherry Valley Road, Gilford, NH 03249.
Wilkinson-Beane-Simoneau-Paquette Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 603Cremations.com, 164 Pleasant Street, Laconia, NH, 03246, is assisting the family with the arrangements. For more information and to view an online memorial go to www.wilkinsonbeane.com.