On the evening of May 27, Jay Ronald Long succumbed to the rare lung disease that he had battled for over three years. He passed away at his home, under the care of Hospice nurses and aides, and especially of his wife, Helene. He leaves behind his wife, his children, Jeff, Joshua, Sara, and Jedd, his brother, Don, and his sister, Vicki. He is loved, and he will be missed.
Jay was born in Monahans, Texas, on December 14, 1946, to Edd and Ima Long. Moving from Texas to New Mexico, the Longs then settled in West Covina, California, where Jay attended Edgewood High School. For nearly 40 years, he has made his home in Valley Center, where he helped to build his parents’ house on Anthony Road, managed Long Grove Management and Landscaping after the loss of his father, raised his sister Jan’s three children after her death, and cared for his mother until she passed in 2000.
If love is limited, Jay did not know it. If kindness is in short supply, Jay was not aware. If self-sacrifice is rare, it wasn’t so for Jay. If hard work is to be avoided, you wouldn’t know it watching Jay (or learning from him). And if cool is uncommon, we have all just lost a man of uncommon abundance.
Family and friends were his first commitment, but Jay also loved the ocean, the air, and the open road. He scuba dived Cabo San Lucas, La Jolla, Catalina, and points between. Air Force One once invaded his air space, as he neared the altitude record for a glider plane. Hang-gliders and glider planes kept him high, as often as he was able. And from the time of his youth until his last days alive, motorcycles granted Jay a home on the road, a freedom uncompromised.
For Jay, there were no bad days. And if there were, he never let on. His life, his character, and his memory will be honored and celebrated on June 6. Motorcycles will gather at his home in the Hideaway Lake Park on Lilac Road -- kickstands up at 11:00 a.m. -- and loud pipes will ride him away to The Hideout, tribute to a local legend. The ride will be followed by a memorial reception at his home, at approximately 2:30 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that donations be made in Jay’s name to American Legion Post 149, DAV.
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