Obituary of Jasper (Jay) N. Ibe

 

January 15, 1975 to June 5, 2022

 

It is with deep sadness that the family announces the sudden passing of Jasper (Jay)  N. Ibe on June 5, 2022 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

 

Jasper was born in the Philippines on January 15, 1975. He was the first grandchild of Librado and Adelaida Ibe and fifth grandson of Pedro and Aurea Nilo, who together cared for him for the first 2 years of his life until he could join his parents, Jose (Sonny) and Veronica Ibe in Toronto, Canada. For the first 9 years of his life, he had the undivided attention and was the focus of the family’s life in Toronto. In 1984, he became the proud big brother (Kuya) of Vanessa.

 

Jasper is survived by his mother, Veronica, his sister Vanessa and his sister-in-law Amber. He was predeceased by his grandparents and his father Sonny. Jasper was deeply loved and will be missed by his many uncles, aunts, cousins, nieces, nephews and godchildren. 

 

When his paternal grandparents immigrated to Canada in 1979, he spent summer vacation with them wherever his grandfather happened to be working like Saint John, New Brunswick, in Canada, and Cincinnati, Ohio and Gaithersburg, Maryland in the US. His grandparents also took him to the Disney theme parks in Orlando, Florida and Hershey Park in Pennsylvania. He is the only one in his family to visit all the Canadian Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland Labrador.

 

Jasper adored his family.  As the oldest grandchild on his paternal side, Jasper took on the role of the leader of the pack. He and his cousins, Jamie, Boyd and Rowell, grew up more like siblings than cousins and their close relationship continued throughout the years.  As children, they loved to practice wrestling moves on each other and often picked on Jamie.  They regularly got into trouble – many times because they followed Jasper’s lead in his many antics and “brilliant” ideas.  They loved house music, hip hop and reggae and regularly partied and danced the night away together.  As they got older, they continued to support each other in their personal and professional lives.  Jasper always treasured their special bond and relationship to each other.

 

“Kuya” is a Filipino term of endearment and respect which is used to refer to an older brother or male cousin.  As Jasper was older than most of the cousins, he was commonly referred to as “Kuya Jasper”, “Kuya J” or just “Kuya”.  He was a happy and fun-loving Kuya – regularly showing up to family gatherings with a smile on his face and ready to have a good time.  He led party games and acted as MC at many parties.  But he was also ready to help out whenever someone called on him.

 

Jasper was the proud Ninong (Godfather) to Julie Anne, Mason, Avery, Aria, Conrad Enoch (C3) and Elijah.  He loved to play with them but especially loved to spoil them with gifts, toys and candy.  He did anything to make them laugh and smile.    

 

Jasper was deeply loved and looked up to by his younger sister Vanessa.  Even though he was 9 years older than her, they became very close and were best friends.  They enjoyed eating (and taking pictures of) good food together, DJ’ing parties together, taking road trips and other vacations, adventuring to new restaurants and, of course, cheering on the Toronto Raptors and Toronto Blue Jays. He even travelled with Vanessa to Chicago, Detroit and Cleveland to watch Toronto teams compete.  Jasper was her protector, confidante and her biggest supporter. He was very proud of his sister’s educational and professional achievements.    

 

After his father, Sonny, passed away in 2021, Jasper was the main companion and travel buddy of his mother, Veronica who will miss him dearly.  Jasper and his mother had a unique relationship as their birthdays were only 2 days apart.  In January 2022, they even travelled to Honolulu where they celebrated their joint birthdays together with over 20 family members from his maternal side.

 

Jasper loved life.  He enjoyed good food, music, DJ’ing, travelling and photography.  In particular, DJing and photography were more than just hobbies for Jasper – they were passions – and they allowed him to meet and develop relationships with many people in the DJ and photography communities in Canada, the US and around the world.  Jasper acted as a mentor to many people just starting out and often inspired them.  Jasper was a moderator for the online streaming channel of DJ Starting from Scratch – a role he truly loved as it combined his love of DJ’ing with the ability to meet and interact with people. 

 

Visitation for family and friends will be held at the Humphrey Funeral Home located at 1403 Bayview Avenue (south of Eglinton Avenue East) in Toronto on Friday, June 17, 2022 from 2pm until 8pm.  At 5:30pm, the priest will lead prayers.  Eulogies will follow at 6pm.

 

The Funeral Mass will take place at St. Maria Goretti Parish Church at 717 Kennedy Road, Scarborough on Saturday, June 18, 2022 at 10:30am. Burial will follow at Pine Hills Cemetery at 625 Birchmount Road, Scarborough.

 

For those who are unable to attend in person, the following services will be livestreamed:

• Eulogies on Friday June 17, 2022 at 6:00pm
• Funeral Mass on Saturday June 18, 2022 at 10:30 am

NOTE: All times are Toronto Time (Eastern Standard Time)

 

Donations can be made to The Heart and Stroke Foundation. Condolences may be forwarded through www.humphreymiles.com.

 

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