Family, friends and teammates celebrated the life of Jason Sawyer on Tuesday evening at a place he loved: the ball diamonds at Kitchener Park.
Sawyer, 48, was killed on Saturday afternoon after the motorcycle he was driving collided with a vehicle at the intersection of Colborne and West streets in downtown Orillia.
His wife, Lesleigh, 45, who was riding on the back of the motorcycle, was taken by air ambulance to a Toronto-area trauma centre with what police called "life- threatening" injuries.
Jason and Lesleigh, parents of four children, were avid members of the Orillia Slo-pitch League. According to league president Steve Hamilton, they are "like family" to their teammates.
On Tuesday evening, more than 100 people gathered at the Kitchener Park baseball diamonds to share stories of playing slo-pitch with Jason, and many offered prayers for Lesleigh.
Their daughter, Madison, 21, attended the gathering with her sisters, Emaleigh, 25, and Hannah, 19, and brother, Jason Jr., 17.
"It means a lot to see the impact that they made on everyone," Madison said through tears. "It's amazing to see all the people that our dad meant something to. We'll always miss him and remember him."
While Madison acknowledges it may be difficult for her parents' teammates to finish the season without them, she says it's important they keep playing.
"They are definitely the type that would want the game to go on," she said. "My mom has played with a broken nose before and my dad is so competitive."
Hamilton says the news of Jason's sudden death has hit hard.
"We were all shocked," he said. "It's definitely hard to process."
Jason, an Orillia District Collegiate and Vocational Institute graduate, was known by teammates and opponents for being a "fierce competitor."
"He had that drive to win," Hamilton said. "If you missed the ball, he'd let you know, but he was also the first to congratulate you if you made a good play."
Hamilton says Jason's spirit for the game will be missed at local diamonds.
"He was always smiling and laughing. He was a genuine-to-the-core, good person," he said.
He says the league will consider finding a way to honour his legacy and to keep his memory alive.
Jessica Wright, who plays with Lesleigh in the women's and co-ed divisions, says she didn't want to believe it when she heard the news.
"Jason and my husband, Greg, are best friends," she said. "They play baseball, cornhole, darts and golf together. My husband, who never cries, can't stop crying."
Because the Sawyers are a staple of the slo-pitch community, Wright says she expected the large turnout at the diamond on Tuesday.
"Jay and Lesleigh are this community," she said. "They're special people."
She says Lesleigh, a Patrick Fogarty Catholic Secondary School graduate, is in stable condition after emerging from a coma Tuesday. She was "heartbroken" to learn about her husband’s death.
"They were high school sweethearts," Wright explained of the duo, who both work in the local aggregate industry. "She was riding behind Jay on the motorcycle, and she had his back right up to his last breath. I still think he did whatever he could to take the impact to protect her."
Police say the collision is still under investigation and ask anyone who may have witnessed it to contact OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
