By MARCELA ROJAS AND ERNIE GARCIA THE JOURNAL NEWS (Original publication: May 10, 2004) YONKERS — More than 100 friends and family members came together yesterday to say goodbye to Jason Stern, a 36-year-old who was riding his motorcycle last week when he was fatally struck by a vehicle on the Saw Mill River Parkway. The memorial service was held at Stern’s business, T-Shirt Printing, a screen-printing factory at 25 Saw Mill River Road. Stern, a screen printer since the age of 14, made T-shirts for concerts and charity events, including March of Dimes fund-raisers and the Aids Walk. At the service, everyone wore one of Stern’s creations. “The essence of Jason was his work,” his sister, Mara Stern, said yesterday. “He spent a tremendous amount of time there and his friends and family identified that place with him.” Mara Stern, her mother and her brother traveled from Florida on Saturday for the memorial and were staying at Jason Stern’s Yonkers apartment, which he shared with his girlfriend. “People flew in from all over the country to be here,” Mara Stern said. “He was the kind of guy that was loved by everyone.” Stern was traveling north on the Saw Mill when a 2000 GMC truck struck him at the Lawrence Street crossing in Dobbs Ferry at 8:30 p.m. Friday. The truck’s driver, Thomas Grady, 66, of Doylestown, Pa., was charged with driving while intoxicated, a misdemeanor, Westchester County police said. Grady was arraigned Saturday in Yonkers City Court. He was being held in the Westchester County jail with bail set at $15,000. Information on whether Grady posted bail yesterday was unavailable. Additional charges may be brought against Grady, pending results of his blood tests, Lt. Henry Cetina said. Police are continuing to interview witnesses, he said. Stern will be cremated and his ashes sprinkled on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. Stern, a native of Bardonia who has lived in Yonkers for more than 10 years, also lived in North Conway, N.H., and would return there often on vacation. “It was one of his favorite places. It was very special to him,” Mara Stern said. “He would go there at any time of the year.”
