Jason Ray Oswald, 43

October 12, 2016

Jason Ray Oswald, 43, of Lititz, husband, father, son, brother, uncle, loyal friend, coach, and triathlete, crossed the finish line on October 12, 2016.
How to do justice to Jason’s life in such a short space? How to find words to express the magnitude of our loss? He was the center of everything – his wife, his children, family, and friends. Jason coached middle school boys and 3rd and 4th grade girls’ basketball, as well as 8U and 10U girls’ softball in the Manheim Township school district. He brought all the qualities that made him so loved by his family and friends to these young athletes – humor, patience, kindness, and an understanding that, at the end of the day, it’s not whether you win or lose, but whether you did your best and found joy in the game. (But, he did prefer to win.) He was a fierce competitor who took up running in his 30s, starting with 5Ks and quickly progressing to 10Ks, half-marathons, marathons, and triathlons. Jason loved nothing more than to laugh, dance, and play with his kids. He was his family’s world and they were his. This is not the way his story was supposed to end.
Jason was employed by ABC Auto Auction in outside sales. He previously worked at Zeigler Distributors for 5 years, and the Manheim Auto Auction for 16 years. His work added many more friends to his life and he loved them all. If a measure of a person is his number of friends, Jason was a giant.
Born in Lancaster, he was the son of Ray and Carol (Young) Oswald, and was married to Melissa (Lehman) Oswald for 15 years. He was a graduate of Lancaster Catholic High School and Stevens College, playing basketball throughout his high school and college years.
In addition to his wife and parents, Jason is survived by two children, Olivia and Evan, both at home; two sisters, Kim (Joe) Donaldson and Wendy (Mike) Woytovich; godparents/aunt and uncle, Charles and Shirley Hilster; in-laws, Leroy and Nancy Lehman; brother- and sister-in-law, Jim and Jennifer Lehman; and nieces and nephews, Caeli, Max, Abbey, Amanda, Courtney, Ed, Alexis, Derek, Connor, and Sara.
A celebration of Jason’s life will be held Saturday, October 22, 2016, at 11 AM at LCBC Church, 2392 Mount Joy Rd., Manheim, PA. Visitation with the family will take place from 9 – 11 AM at the church. Please enter through the South Auditorium entrance. In lieu of flowers, please send contributions to the Oswald Family Memorial Fund, which has been created for his children, c/o Fulton Bank, 5998 Main St., East Petersburg, PA 17520.