Jay Warren Oppenheim

Jay grew-up in the family home on Carrolton Ave. He attended Lafayette Grammar School and Fortier High School. He met Janice during a weekend visit with his parents to the Southern Hotel in Covington. He earned his bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tulane University. After graduation, Jay worked for the Army Corps of Engineers for a short time before joining the United States Marine Corp in 1957. Jay attended The Basic School and Officer’s Candidate School at Quantico, VA. Jay was initially interested in becoming a fighter pilot but changed his mind after several initial training sessions. Following his commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, he was transferred to USMC Camp Pendleton in Oceanside, CA, as an infantry commander. Jay and Janice married in 1957 while Jay was stationed at Quantico, just before the move Camp Pendleton. Jay completed his military service in 1961, with the rank of Captain, and returned to New Orleans with infant son Mark in tow.

Despite an offer to work in the family furniture store – Oppenheim Furniture on Rampart Street – Jay joined Boeing at the Michoud Engineering and Manufacturing Facility in eastern New Orleans. Jay was part of the team that developed and built the first stage of the multi-stage Saturn Five rocket systems used to launch Apollo missions into orbit. In 1962 he received his master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tulane, which he earned by attending evening classes while working at Boeing.

When it began to appear that the Apollo program would be winding down and the ongoing viability of the Michoud facility was in question, Jay began selling insurance at night and on weekends. In 1975, Jay turned-down an offer from Boeing to transfer to Seattle and began working full-time in the insurance business with his cousin Stan Rosenthal and The Rosenthal Agency. This was the beginning of Jay’s 38-year, second career as an insurance executive.

During this period Jay also began to fulfil his desire to learn to fly. He took advantage of the GI Bill as well as flying lessons provided by his first cousin, Milton Brener. Jay was a private pilot and part-time instructor for over 30 years. He earned nearly every flying certifications available including VFR, IFR, Seaplane, Multi-Engine, Commercial, Instructor, and Instrument Instructor. He owned several aircraft over the years. His flying career, in which he logged over 3,000 hours, ended in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina destroyed Lakefront Airport, the private hangars where his plane was kept, and his plane – fortunately, all was properly insured!

In addition to earning his CPCU and CLU designations, Jay also became a nationally recognized expert in the underwriting of private aircraft and private marine vessels. After leaving The Rosenthal Agency, Jay spent a couple years at The Powell Insurance Agency before joining Eagan Insurance Agency in 2006 which he retired from in 2013. After retiring Jay worked as a volunteer at the WWII Museum in New Orleans, where he always requested to be stationed in the US Freedom Pavilion where WWII-era aircraft are on display. After being diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2014, Jay continued to lead a productive and happy life with the incredible doctors and staff of the Benson Cancer Institute at Ochsner Hospital.

He is survived by his wife of 65 years, Janice (nee Mexic) Oppenheim, Mark Oppenheim (Linda Litner) of Chicago, IL, Daren Oppenheim (Andrea - nee Caruso – Oppenheim) of Metairie, and Erin Downey (John Downey, USMC, ret.) of Coronado, CA. He is also survived by his five loving grandchildren, William Oppenheim and Julia Oppenheim of Chicago, Samantha Oppenheim of Metairie, Lt. Hannah Downey, USMC, of Corpus Christi, TX, and Olivia Downey ofPortland, OR. Jay was preceded in death by his parents Isadore Oppenheim and Dorothy (nee Feldman) Oppenheim, and his sister Lynne Cheskin.

In addition to flying Jay’s other major hobby was tennis. He played with the same core group every weekend at City Park tennis courts for decades before joining the tennis club at Chateau Country Club in the early 2000’s. He was also a lifelong fan of the NY Yankees – an affinity developed during summer road trips with his uncle Abe Oppenheim to NYC to visit relatives and attend some baseball games. He was also a huge fane of Tulane Green Wave football and the New Orleans Saints. As an original Saints season ticketholder, he and his sons, Mark and Daren, were in their north endzone seats at Tulane Stadium for both the John Gilliam kickoff return on the Saints’ first ever regular season play in 1967, as well as Tom Dempsey’s 63-yard field goal to beat the Lions in 1970, among other, more forgettable Saints’ happenings during the early years of the franchise.

The family would like to thank the staff of St. Joseph’s Hospice and the Servant Sisters of Mary who provided loving care to Jay during his final days. Funeral services will be held on Friday, April 8, at 11am at Hebrew Rest Three, 2100 Pelopidas St., New Orleans. The service will be officiated by Rabbi Yossi Nemes of The Chabad Center in Metairie and Rabbi Katie Bauman of Touro Synagogue. In lieu of flowers, the family has kindly requested donations in Jay’s memory be made to the WWII Museum.