William J. Cherry

Jay is survived by his three children, Carol Ann McClendon with her husband Sky and their son Caleb; his son, Steven Jay Cherry; and Martha Kathryn Henson with her husband Nathyn, and their children Paisley, Presleigh, Paxtyn, and Palmer James.

Jay was an athlete in school years, playing baseball and football, and was a skilled wrestler. He enlisted in the United States Marine Corp in Nov 1982, separated Nov 1987. During his time in service, Jay earned five ranks in five years, ultimately earning the rank of Sergeant, the Rifle Expert Badge, (2) Meritorious Masts, and a Good Conduct Medal.

Jay married his (rival) high school sweetheart in April of 1983, and became a father on July 6,1985. He had three children to whom he taught to be independent, and self-reliant. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Business Management from Faulkner University, maintaining a 3.8 GPA. He held leadership positions at GE Capital, Bank of America, Sears Credit, Encore capital, and National Credit Adjusters, managing as many as 1500 people across the globe. Jay was an entrepreneur, creating and eventually selling Global Edge, a product that brought multi-factor authentication and fraud prevention to manufacturing and healthcare supply chains, and his own business consulting company. He was a skilled carpenter, was learning to work with leather, wrote poetry, had a love for music and art.

Those who loved Jay would describe him as a very kind and loving man, with a great sense of humor. He would go out of his way to make people laugh and was always cracking jokes in every conversation. He had a huge heart and showed compassion to family and strangers alike. He would help out as much as he could, but also instill his wisdom in others so that they could handle the same situations on their own later. He was deeply loved and cherished by so many and will be greatly missed by all.

A visitation will be held at Ridout's Gardendale Chapel, located at 2029 Decatur Hwy, Gardendale, Alabama, 35071, on December 8, 2025, starting at 10:00 am. A Celebration of Life Service will follow at the same venue on December 8, 2025, beginning at 12:00 pm.

A committal service will take place at Antioch Church of Christ, 126 Earl Snead Road, Boaz, AL, 35957, on December 8, 2025.