Jason Philip Senior

Jason Philip McKinley Senior was born on April 7, 1982 to Pamela Ruth Scherger and Kent Richard Senior in Burlingame, California. He grew up in Arlington, Virginia attending McKinley Elementary School, Swanson Middle School, and Yorktown High School, and spent a great portion of time in the Arlington Career Center television production studio. Jason was active in Boy Scouts and earned the highest achievement rank of Eagle. He graduated high school in 2000 and earned his Associate Degree in Culinary Arts from The International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Washington in 2008.

Jason frequented and worked in many staple Arlington venues including the Java Shack and the original Lost Dog Cafe. His culinary career began at Portobello's, an American Cafe where he built a strong foundation in all aspects of the restaurant industry. He left his family and friends in 2009 to move to San Jose, California after meeting his future wife, Dolly Goyal, who he later married in 2012. Jason’s career in California spanned many areas of the food industry including high-end restaurants, corporate dining and catering, and ultimately ended in public schools. Jason’s passion for food led him to develop nutritious scratch-made meals and menus for K-12 students. Jason was well loved by students, staff, and faculty.

When he wasn’t experimenting with new recipes at home, Jason spent his time mountain biking through various forests, mountains, and deserts in northern California, Washington, and Utah. He was also a musician, having played in the band, “Those Less Fortunate” in high school and often had sessions with his #1 stratocaster, Maritza. Music was his safe haven, and while he enjoyed different genres of ska, punk, rock, and indie, “emo” was his favorite.

Jason passed away peacefully in Sebring, Florida on May 7, 2022 from end-stage liver disease, with his wife by his side. He is survived by his wife, family, and loving canine, Lois Lane.

Memorial services will be held at Murphy’s Funeral Home in Arlington, VA on May 27, 2022 and at Darling & Fischer Chapel of the Hills in Los Gatos, CA on June 11, 2022.

Flowers may be purchased in his memory or in lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to FoodCorps or the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Watch memorial service at: https://vimeo.com/714985482