Jason Hawk, the former Mountain Men star and skilled bladesmith, was more than just a rugged face on television. Known for his deep connection to the land and his quiet strength, Jason built a life centered on craftsmanship, family, and nature.
But behind his stoic presence was a long and painful health battle that he faced with courage and grace.
Jason was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in late 2020. Despite undergoing aggressive treatments and leaning on the support of his wife Mary and their children, his condition continued to worsen over the years.
Through it all, Jason remained focused on what mattered most to him—his family, his work, and the way he wanted to be remembered.
After his quiet passing, his wife Mary Hawk took to Facebook to share not only her grief, but Jason’s final wish: a memorial celebration that reflected who he truly was.
On May 7, Mary posted an emotional update revealing that Jason had asked for a celebration of life—one that would bring friends and family together, not in sorrow, but in remembrance around a campfire, surrounded by nature.
“My heart is aching so badly and I’m having a hard time getting everything organized because every time I try, I just start crying (plus the chronic procrastination 😂),” Mary wrote. She shared that the original date for the memorial was set for Saturday, June 7th, but she worried that she had missed inviting some close friends and loved ones.
In her heartfelt message, she invited people to reach out: “Close friends and family, please message me if you are not already part of the memorial celebration group. I love you all.”
However, as the date approached, Mary made the difficult decision to postpone the memorial. In a follow-up post, she explained that many of their family and friends were unable to attend the June gathering.
In an effort to accommodate everyone and to better reflect Jason’s own love for cool evenings spent outdoors, the memorial was rescheduled to Saturday, October 11th.
“October will be a lot more conducive to sitting around the campfire,” Mary wrote, honoring Jason’s vision for a relaxed, outdoor gathering filled with warmth, stories, and connection.
Jason Hawk’s legacy lives on not only through his handcrafted blades and his time on Mountain Men, but through the memories he left behind and the love his family continues to carry. His final wish wasn’t about fame or fanfare—it was about togetherness. And this October, those closest to him will gather to honor a man who lived life on his own terms, and asked to be remembered in the simplest, most beautiful way: under the stars, beside a fire, surrounded by love.
Mary’s Tribute:
Here’s the exact Tribute Jason’s Wife wrote for his memorial.
Jason Hawk obituary
Written by Mary Fricchione
Jason, Patrick Baldwin—known to most as Jason Hawk—passed away on January 28, 2025, in his home, surrounded by family and friends.
Jason was loved and admired by all who met him.
People around the world were spellbound by his talent, artwork, and storytelling superpower.
Jason was born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, to Andrea, an artist and equine therapist, and Jim Baldwin, an Army Special Forces instructor turned carpenter and artist.
Jim adopted the last name Hawk in honor of his years of skydiving.
Jason, in later years, adopted the name too.
Both of his parents were renowned for their gift of gab, so they say Jason came by his storytelling skills honestly.
When Jason was young and living in California and Nevada with his older brother Damon and his little sister Jordan, he developed a lifelong love for riding horses.
He especially enjoyed riding out in the desert and mountains.
He grew up in a creative household where he learned early on to work with many materials.
Jason would spend countless hours looking over his dad’s shoulder as he carved and created gorgeous, historic, and native-inspired artwork.
Jim also introduced Jason to improvised weapons, survival, and all manners of “making do” that he learned in life and in the service.
When Jason was eight, his older brother and best friend Damon tragically lost his life to an accident on the beach.
The family was devastated.
A few years later, they moved to Cuchara, Colorado, where they became caretakers on a large guest ranch called the Yellow Pine.
Living in the Rocky Mountains was a dream come true for Jason.
He had always dreamed of saddling up a horse and making solo camping trips out into the wilderness.
There he honed his mountain man skills—hunting, trapping, and perfecting his camp craft.
At 15, Jason and his sister Jordan became licensed wranglers.
They helped pack in elk hunters into the backcountry.
Jason would often stay to cook and tend camp before returning home.
In the tiny town of Cuchara, Jason found a crew of friends who shared his love for the American frontier, hunting, and trapping.
They spent long winter evenings sewing clothes and crafting gear for reenactments and rendezvous events.
This was where his passion for living history truly took root.
After high school, Jason traveled the country for a couple of years until he landed in Montana.
He lived remotely in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and would come into town for work.
Jason became a manager and chef at Dos Amigos in Kalispell, then a supervisor and chef at Santa Fe Reds in Bozeman.
While in Montana, he went to welding school and met his first wife, Erin Meeks.
They were married for a few years before Jason returned to Arizona.
He moved to Rimrock, AZ, with his dad, where they shared an artistic studio.
There, Jason began knife-making on the side while working in a bronze foundry.
He met his second wife, Ikuko Watanabe, a Japanese student studying at NAU.
They married and welcomed a son, Kamui, in 2005.
Over the years living off and on in Sedona, Jason earned his fifth-degree black belt in Doce Pares Eskrima.
He trained under his friend, Grandmaster Christopher Petrelli.
His skills and passion for martial arts were a quiet but powerful part of who he was.
Jason met his final wife, Mary Fricchione, around a campfire after teaching at Winter Count.
In 2008, their daughter River was born.
When River was two, they moved to Arivaca, AZ, to Mary’s family land and set up carving and knife-making shops for Jim and Jason.
In 2012, Jason traveled to Idaho to teach at Woodsmoke, a primitive skills gathering.
There, he interviewed with Warm Springs Production Company for the History Channel show Mountain Men.
They loved him and filmed a season in Arizona, but the desert lacked the snowy scenes needed, so it never aired.
Still, the History Channel wanted Jason on board.
They created No Man’s Land, which aired in 2014 and followed him and others living remotely in the desert.
That show lasted only one season.
Later, the network invited him back for Mountain Men Season 5.
They offered to move his family anywhere in the U.S., and he chose Arkansas for its family ties and natural resources.
Jim stayed behind in Arizona.
Jason and his family filmed near the White River outside Elkins, AR.
They stayed through the winter on a 600-acre property with an 1800s off-grid cabin and a hand-dug well.
When spring came, they returned to Arizona after their lease ended.
That summer, Jason’s father Jim passed away from a heart attack.
The next fall, the lease was no longer available.
So, Jason and his family began looking for land to call their own.
With support from friends and family, they bought a 10-acre homestead north of the Arkansas River and Mulberry, AR.
After about a year of settling in, Jason’s youngest daughter Maddie was born in 2017—during an episode of the show.
In 2018, his son Kamui came to live with him.
Jason continued filming until 2019 when he was diagnosed with cancer.
That marked the end of his time on screen.
The extra time allowed him to focus on healing and on his artwork, which he did until he physically could not anymore.
In his final days, a “good day” meant being able to work on his knives in the shop.
He loved making cool stuff.
It was never about fame—it was about the craft and living true.
Jason was a patient, kind man who would spend long hours talking to anyone in need.
You could see that patience in everything he did—from carving, to cooking, to teaching.
He loved fishing, hunting, archery, tracking, sewing, history, cooking, learning, and most of all—his friends and family.
In the end, Jason did his best with whatever he had.
He encouraged everyone to live fully and become a legend.
That was his gift to the world.
Jason leaves behind his wife Mary, son Kamui, daughters River and Maddie, mother Andrea Baldwin, aunt Marilyn Davis, and uncle John Baldwin.
He is also survived by his sisters Jordan Baldwin, Jill Lott, Jymme Jo Gann, Julie Waller Driskel, many nieces and nephews, and countless friends.
He was dearly loved and will be deeply missed.
This brief summary of Jason Hawk’s life is a woefully inadequate account.
There are stories held in memory—validated by those still walking this earth.
But many of the people who made those stories real are no longer here.
When unbelievable stories can no longer be verified,
They become the stuff of legends.
And Jason Hawk, in every way, became one.
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