George Jefferson Mason, III (Jay) went to be with the Lord on July 23, 2022, aged 74, the result of an accident at home.

"Jay" as he was known to most family and friends, was born August 11, 1947, to George Mason, Jr. and the former Bobbie McKneely in Dallas, Texas. The second of three children, he came to faith in Christ and was baptized like his siblings at First Baptist Church in downtown Dallas, where generations of his family have been active members. Jay graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1965. The son of a schoolteacher, he excelled as a student, but gained most notoriety as a star football player, playing offensive and defensive half-back as well as place-kicking and punting for the District Champion Panthers. He was named first-team All Greater Dallas, All Metro and honorable mention All State in 1964 and earned a scholarship to play football at his family's preferred school, Baylor University. There he earned All Southwest Conference honors on the freshman team before suffering the first attack of his life-long struggle with multiple sclerosis.

Jay graduated Baylor in 1969 with a bachelor's degree in business administration and Baylor Law School in 1972 with his Juris Doctor, achieving a variety of academic honors. He began practicing law in Dallas, but soon ventured into an acting career. Commuting between Dallas and New York over the next decade, he worked in a variety of television and print media, including on the famed television series "Dallas," with appearances in "Days of our Lives" and as a competitor on "Star Search." However, his worsening condition and desire to be near his sons prompted a return to Dallas and the law profession in the 1990s where he remained productive on behalf of clients over the next decade.

In 2004, Jay joined his brother, Steve, on a family property designed in part with his unique mobility challenges in mind. There he added to many wonderful memories for the growing, extended Mason clan. There he also reconnected with and married the former Susan Stovall, a fellow Hillcrest Panther and long-time friend in 2018, who patiently loved him in his final years.

Being wheelchair bound for over 25-years with a progressively debilitating condition never shook Jay's faith in Christ. He also loved Texas, football, family and flirting with the occasional waitress! He dreamt of the mountains, of horses, and the American West. He entertained himself with sports, westerns and World-War II films, as well as (secretly) the occasional Hallmark holiday movie. Ever the attorney, he also loved a good argument and tortured family members with exhausting interrogations. Those that knew Jay best, however, always appreciated the way he maintained his hopeful perspective and playful sense of humor throughout a half-lifetime of extraordinary physical difficulty.

Now wheelchair free, he walks again with his parents, Bobbie and George and granddaughter Allison Grace Mason, who preceded him in death.

He is survived by his wife, Susan Mason of Tyler; his son Jarrod Mason of Plano; his son and daughter-in-law, Jeb and Taylor Mason of Dallas and their four children, Neely, Mary Hicks, George (IV), and Grace who knew him as "Grandby;" sister Jo Carol Mason of Dallas; brother Steven MacArthur Mason and sister-in-law Margaret Mason of Tyler and their children, Meredith, Carrie, Rachel, Andrew and Michael their respective spouses and their collective 17 children who affectionally named him "Grunkles."

Funeral services will be held at 2pm on Tuesday, August 2 at the Memorial chapel at Restland Funeral Home. A brief visitation with the family will be held prior at 1pm.

In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society or a Baylor University scholarship fund established by his grandparents as The George J. and Janie Bodine Mason Memorial Endowed Scholarship, Fund # 478SANU.

https://obits.dallasnews.com/us/obituaries/dallasmorningnews/name/george-mason-obituary?id=36092381