Obituary of Jayson Innes

Jayson Alexander Malcolm Innes died peacefully just before midnight on December 2, 2025. He was 51 years old. He will be most deeply missed by his wife of 21 years, Jennifer Catherine Hurley, and their two daughters, Keira Rowan Innes and Teagan Holly Innes. 

Jay was born and grew up in Streetsville with his amazing mother, Jean Innes, who predeceased him in 2023. His father, Malcolm Hodgskiss—though not a central part of his daily life—provided loving support until his death when Jay was three. Through his father, Jayson had six half siblings. He was predeceased by his sisters Joyce and Sylvia Hodgskiss and is survived by his siblings William Hodgskiss (Sandra), Diane Brown (Colin), Sidney Hodgskiss (Cathy) and Malcolm Hodgskiss. Jay also leaves behind his brother-in-law Richard Hurley and his wife Catherine Monchesky, and their sons Jasper and Alistair, who will miss the cherished cottage weeks that quickly became everyone’s favourite vacation each year. His father-in-law Paul Hurley and wife Patricia will deeply miss the many family gatherings and conversations they shared with him.

Jay spent his childhood summers on the Innes family farm in Embro, Ontario, working for his Uncle Fred—who reliably insisted each year that Jay’s love of food meant he cost more than he earned. Jay was always happiest taking things apart to understand how they worked, or building something new (especially IKEA furniture). It was no surprise when he earned both his bachelor’s degree (1998) and master’s degree (2001) in civil engineering from the University of Waterloo. Jay specialized in water resources engineering and worked with loyalty and dedication at Stantec’s Kitchener-Waterloo offices for 22 years.

Jay loved soccer, hockey, and football, and at various times played defence in all three. Hockey was his greatest passion. For more than two decades, he played with the Farmhands and on Stantec’s Friday morning pickup team. He also treasured the camaraderie and antics of the annual May 2–4—more recently the “May-4”—guys’ weekend, where he was a long-time participant. He was heartbroken when cancer complications forced him to leave the Farmhands two years ago, but he continued playing with the Stantec pickup group until their summer break this year.

Jay was a quiet guy with a wicked sense of humor and a kind heart. He was not afraid to be the only one on the dance floor with his wife at any event, or to show up at his engineering consulting job with painted fingernails to delight his young daughters. He had a soft spot for Hallmark style romance movies, and although he liked rap and Newfoundland folk music, he also willingly saw Taylor Swift twice in concert. His loss will be felt every day.

Friends are invited to share their memories of Jay with his family during visitation at the Erb & Good Family Funeral Home, 171 King St. S., Waterloo, on Sunday, December 14, 2025 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Condolences for the family an donations to Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation (through the Canadian Cancer Society) may be arranged by contacting the funeral home at www.erbgood.com or 519-745-8445.