I first met Jamie when he moved to Stavanger after his first surgery, and we instantly connected. From being cousins on separate continents, we soon became close friends and family, and hung out whenever we could. He would swing by our apartment in Stavanger, we’d cook him a meal which he could not stop praising, we’d laugh into the wee hours of the night, and he’d crash on our couch 1-2 times per week.

Describing Jamie is not an easy task, nor a necessary one as we all knew him unconditionally, but here goes: Unconventional, optimistical, generous, philosophical, caring, full of fight and thirsty for life. Jamie was the most spontaneous person I have ever met in my life, which could turn making plans with him into the easiest or the hardest task in the world: It was either “You made fish-soup at 11PM? Sure bro, I’ll be there in 12 minutes” or “Did we have plans today? Sorry bro, I found cheap tickets to Cuba yesterday” – Followed up by him whastapping me a video of him dancing with a Cuban beaty.

Getting to know know Jamie was a rollercoaster of surprises, such as the time he casually mentioned having been a stockbroker on wall-street or when he started speaking japanese with an airbnb guest in their crib in Stavanger. Our jaws dropped the time we were watching “How I met your mother” together with Jamie and he recognized one of the lead actresses saying “That’s my old girlfriend from NY”.

We never talked much about his condition during our time in Stavanger. We chose to focus on the good times, just hanging out and having a laugh together with the rest of the family.
We knew he was ill, but never pried, and let him divulge whatever he wanted and at his own pace. I never truly realized how bad his condition actually was until talking to him a few minutes after he texted me from the hospital in Stavanger saying his tumor was back.

Although texting mainly consisisted of avocado emojis the last year, we were lucky enough to be able to visit him many times in the hospital and have several conversations about his conditions, his hopes for the future, and sharing a ton of laughs along the way.

I was very fortunate to get to know Jamie as well as I did, and he will always be a reminder to live life to the fullest and focus on the important things. In loosing Jamie, we have lost a fanastic friend and brother, and the kids have lost their fun and caring uncle Jamie who would sit with them on the floor for hours having conversations in a language only the three of them understood.

We love you bro, and will miss you forever.

Posted by Karl-Werner