Jesse Cyrus Hamric, of Steamboat Springs, Colorado passed away in a tragic accident on July 4, 2024.

In a word, Jesse was courageous. He could land a triple backflip on a snowboard off a 60-foot jump. And this extraordinary fearlessness and zest for life has always been there. Born on September 14, 2005, in Hong Kong, China, where he spent his early years, he was the leader of the preschool playground. As the only American, he learned to lead with energy and enthusiasm rather than words.

Later, in formerly war-torn Bosnia, to the chagrin of his parents and local farmers, he and his brother would organize games of tag with local kids in a sheepfield covered in dung or challenge the posse to climb to the top of the tallest plum trees in freshly-cleared landmine fields. His confidence grew as a direct result of these overseas experiences and getting other children to unite to do amazing and brave feats. He learned quickly that your surroundings and circumstances don’t define who you are. People are drawn to joy, fire, and light, even in awful circumstances, and especially when courage is involved.

His approach worked when he moved to his dad’s native West Virginia where his passion for snowboarding exploded. As a preteen in Canaan Valley, he would copy older kids who shredded, convincing his parents to drive in the pouring rain and driving wind to hit every park in the rural Appalachian ski resorts. Using pallets and astroturf, he engineered the construction of a giant “fake jump” so he could work all year.

As he started winning local snowboard competitions on the East Coast, his parents sought more elite training and relocated the family to Colorado. Coming into established ski clubs with teammates who had competed since they were toddlers was intimidating. But Jesse only knew how to be himself: have fun, laugh, challenge, and go big. He was quickly embraced and loved by his teammates on the slopes with Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club and One Team International, as well as on the football field, the baseball diamond, the skatepark, and at the campfire. The theme repeated: live life to the fullest and on the edge, celebrate and honor every moment, and find joy and gratitude in relationships, win the hearts of people.

But Jesse was as much a champion as he was a leader. He was an animal whisperer, and like people, cats and dogs gravitated toward him. He loved his brother and sister, family, and his friends and teammates fiercely. There was no one on earth prouder of his big brother on the football field, or yelling louder for his sister in the halfpipe, or as relentless in encouraging his friends to land the back flip out in the trees, or loving as he coaxed his giant dog across a rock bridge. Everything about Jesse was big–his smile, his hugs, his energy, his courage, and most of all his insatiable need to love.

Jesse’s “Trick List” composition book records his daring feats and visualizes new ones. Even in the face of broken bones and concussions, for Jesse, it wasn’t the falls that mattered. It was getting back up. He smiled. And went for it.

Jesse is survived by his parents, Jay and Heidi (Werner) Hamric, his brother Jake and sister Izzy, his grandparents Jim and Margie Hamric of Mineral Wells, WV and Bill and Theresa Werner of Fredericksburg, Virginia, along with many aunts, uncles, cousins and countless friends.