Widowed Professor finds wife’s life inspiring

By E’Dena Johnson

Jason Hans believes everyone should live their life in a way they would be able to inspire other people, a lesson he learned through his wife’s murder in 2002.

“If you were to die tonight there would be a lot of people sad, but would they be inspired?” Hans, a UK professor who teaches a family science class titled “Human Sexuality,” asked the crowd.

Hans spoke on his wife’s murder and how it was important for him to celebrate her life Tuesday night in the W.T. Young Library Auditorium as part of Student Activities Board’s Final Word lecture series.

Hans said he chose the topic of his wife’s murder because his students are used to hearing him talk about human sexuality, and he wanted to be able to share one of his personal stories.

“”I’m happy to talk about her any chance that I get,” he said.

Hans’s wife, Irina, who he was with for six years, was shot in Washington, D.C., while walking home, in what was later determined to be an armed robbery.

When Hans was told of his wife’s murder, he found it difficult to realize that life went on without her.

“I was shocked that the sun came up,” he said. “I was a wreck for about five or six days. One night I just walked around the city to all the places we had been.”

Hans not only believed he lost a wife, but he also lost the children they had planned for. Hans and his wife had already planned their children’s names, Masha and Sasha.

One thing that helped him recover from her death was he felt that it had become his responsibility to be the caretaker of her legacy.

“Her life will not be defined by her death,” Hans said.

In memorializing his wife, Hans also wanted to make sure he didn’t forget the little things.

“One of the greatest fears I have is forgetting. I can close my eyes and smell the perfume she wore on our first date,” Hans said.

Hans learned from his wife that life should not be taken for granted and to make the most of what you have before it’s gone.

He said Irina had once written, “Lying in my dark, cold, spooky grave I will think: Was there a meaning for all that?”

Katie Lamping, a nursing sophomore, said the event gave her a positive message about living your life to the fullest.

“I thought it was good and it was touching,” she said. “It makes you think about your life and the people that are special to you.”