Jay Srinivasan

Devoted husband of Emily Crowell, and cherished son of Vasan, Jay was predeceased by his loving mother, Gladys. Beloved brother of Dev (Jessica) and Maya (Len), and proud uncle to Ella, Sophia, Jake, Victor and Nick. He will also be deeply missed by his mother-in-law, Kathy, father-in-law, Terry and brother-in-law, Corey. Jay also leaves behind countless friends who were there to support him through his journey with cancer. Jay was a loving dog dad to Daisy and Jasmine. Jay is now with Daisy but leaves behind Jasmine to look after Emily.

Born and raised in Côte-Saint-Luc, Jay was a happy, easy-going baby with a beautiful smile and twinkling eyes. As Jay grew up, he remained good natured, his mom and dad finding him such an easy child to raise. As an adult, he remained close to his parents, living nearby and dropping in on them often. Jay’s mom and dad were so proud of the person he was all through his life.

At an early age, Jay took an interest in baseball, which remained a lifelong passion of his; he played with the NDG Indians until his diagnosis with cancer, and cheered for the return of the Expos to Montreal beyond that.

As a brother, Jay was always up for fun, like a little best friend to Dev, playing Nintendo all hours, going halfsies on Nirvana CDs and throwing the ball outside. Jay and his sister Maya had many adventures together, spending countless hours with neighbourhood friends, playing street hockey, baseball, tag and hide go seek. On family trips together, they snorkeled amongst the coral reefs of Hawaii, hiked the Sedona Desert, rode every roller coaster they ever came near, and had some major impact on the bottom line of the all-you-can-eat buffets of Las Vegas.

Jay was so involved with his nieces and nephews, and they adored their Uncle Jay. He made sure to visit them often even though they live in Toronto and Maine, always coming loaded with gifts. Many of our best family movies were filmed by Jay. He was able to capture the kids in a way others couldn’t. Jay was like a kid magnet - his gentle nature and sense of humour combined with setting expectations for decent behavior in his easy way, worked so well for all the kids. They felt so at home with him.

Jay’s love of travel began with his family. Family vacations included trips to Wildwood, NJ, Orlando, Hawaii, Las Vegas, cruises and many other parts of the United States and the Caribbean. At a young age, he spent four months in India - Coimbatore, Bangalore, Madras - meeting his father’s family. It was such a joy for his paternal grandparents and Uncle Suresh and Auntie Meena. He continued to travel throughout his life, visiting Greece, the Dominican Republic, England, France, and more. Jay fondly remembered the summer of ‘99 spent working in Banff with a couple friends as one of the best of his life. Jay’s final vacation was his honeymoon with Emily in Whistler, British Columbia.

Karaoke phenom, trivia wiz, crane machine pro, card shark - to say that Jay loved having fun is an understatement. From karaoke parties, where Jay made countless performances, to murder mystery dinners and trivia nights, where Jay excelled in knowing anything from sports, movies, music or pop culture, he always made sure to make the most out of each occasion. Even a quick trip to the grocery store could turn into a crane machine session - Jay often ended up walking out with stuffed animals that would later be given to his nieces and nephews. In Jay’s late teens, he and a friend devised a plan that landed them a spot on an episode of the Camilla Scott TV show. Jay would never pass up a chance to see his favorite artists in concert - Radiohead, Pearl Jam, Snoop Dog, Beastie Boys, to name a few. He loved any kind of party or get-together. Watching a wrestling event with friends or getting together to play board games (especially Settlers of Catan) was commonly on his agenda. After the pandemic started, he and Emily attended weekly online trivia sessions with friends, did yoga together and spent many hours playing games.

From a young age, Jay excelled at complicated math that he could figure in his head. Over the course of his life, Jay was seemingly very lucky. In reality, his math skills and perceptiveness combined to make him an incredible poker player and an expert at assessing risk. In his late twenties, Jay traveled and played poker professionally over the course of two years, having the time of his life all the while. Jay later combined his education and love of cards, providing marketing expertise for a leading online poker company, his personal experience making him a valuable contributor.

Jay seemed to effortlessly attract good things. For example, when the family was in LA, and decided to see the Jay Leno show live, they were at the back of the line, and would have gotten seats to the rear of the audience. Two staffers came out, quickly scanned the crowd, and selected Jay to sit in the front row and shake hands with Leno at the beginning of the show. From the hundreds in line around the block, it did not surprise us that they picked Jay; stuff like that just happened for him.

In February 2018, Jay and Emily first met via a mutual friend. On their first date, they connected over having similar dreams for their future and their dislike of olives. From then on, they were inseparable. Since the beginning of their relationship, they took countless spa getaways, frequented amusement parks, went camping across Quebec and Ontario, and attended many concerts together. From canoeing through thunderstorms to watching tv or playing cards on a quiet evening, the fun and laughter never ended. Jay and Emily had fun duetting karaoke together and dressing up in original couples’ costumes for Halloween. In December of 2019, Jay’s family rented a cottage to celebrate his parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. It is there that Jay proposed to Emily, and she said ‘yes’ with all her heart. When the pandemic squashed the couple’s dream of a 2020 wedding, they bought their first home instead. They settled on a house in Côte Saint-Luc, the neighbourhood where Jay grew up. In 2021, Jay and Emily tied the knot in Jay’s parents’ backyard in what can only be described as the perfect day. Surrounded by friends and family, marrying each other was a dream come true. Shortly after their marriage, Jay received his cancer diagnosis. Jay and Emily leaned on and supported each other throughout Jay’s illness, and they cherished each day they had together. They even decided to become first time dog parents together. During Jay’s illness, they often spoke about how lucky they were to have found this incredible love. Reflecting on this sentiment helped them persevere through each difficulty thrown their way.

No matter who you ask, people will say that Jay was a wonderful guy with a larger-than-life personality. Jay was an optimist in life and never had a bad thing to say about anyone. His charisma, humour and infectious personality made all who knew him, love him. Although Jay had his core group of amazing friends that he saw on a regular basis, he had innumerable people in his life that he would call friends. In Jay’s final days, he had dozens of visitors come with well-wishes and to reminisce about all the amazing adventures Jay had throughout his life. Jay lived his life with a constant positive outlook which he continued to have throughout his battle with cancer.

We’d like to say a special ‘thank you’ to all the friends who supported Jay and Emily through Jay’s journey with Cancer. We’re also forever grateful to Jay’s care team at the McGill University Health Centre, and especially Jay’s nurse from the CLSC, Esther, who provided Jay with weekly quality care and support. Finally, we’d like to thank Jay and Emily’s neighbour, Sam, who despite not knowing the couple well, offered to build them a wheelchair ramp for their home, making travel to and from appointments more manageable.

Jay will be forever missed and remembered for being an amazing husband, friend, uncle, brother and son. Rest in peace, dear Jay, we love you.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Canadian Cancer Society at: https://cancer.ca/en/

A celebration of life is planned for Saturday, July 30th, from 2-5 pm at the Centre Funeraire Cote Des Neiges: 4525 Ch. de la Côte-des-Neiges Montreal QC, H3V1E7