Jeffrey Joel Held

Jeffrey Joel Held passed away at the age of 66 on the morning of Thursday, May 21 following a long and courageous battle with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. He was preceded in death by his parents Edith and Arnold Held. Jeffrey was born in 1953 in Albany, NY. He moved about the country frequently with his father working for General Electric. Jeff spent his grade school years living in King of Prussia, PA and then his high school years in Shelbyville, IN. He was a graduate of the Shelbyville High School class of '72. He attended and graduated from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1977 with a B.S. and M.S. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Jeff spent time working as a consultant for the U.S. Navy while living in California, and then moved to the Washington, D.C. area working for a computer networking consulting firm, Network Strategies Inc. It was here he met many of his life long friends. Jeff met his wife Mary Fairchild of 34 years during this time through mutual friends. Their courtship was a long distance relationship, but it wasn't until Mary moved to the area in 1984 that Jeff discovered marriage was imminent. They married on April 19, 1986 and became long time residents of the City of Fairfax, VA. Jeff also spent time working at Ernst & Young, rising to the position of Chief Technology Officer after 12 years. During this time, Jeff and Mary welcomed two children, Laura born in 1990 and Victor born in 1992. After many years of being a leader in the information technology world, Jeff retired as a Global Chief Information Officer for Watson Wyatt in 2008. Jeff was a proud nerd who loved Apple products and the newest cutting edge technology. Friends and family called him a "walking encyclopedia" as it seemed he knew everything. In addition to his affinity for science, he also enjoyed sports, especially basketball and was an Ohio State Sports fan. His heroes included tech leader Steve Jobs and athlete Larry Bird. He had many hobbies, such as monitoring and predicting the weather, and loved teaching his children about his passions. Jeff was also a proud member of the Jewish community. He accomplished so much in his life, but what his friends and family remember most fondly about him was his genuinely kind heart. His proudest achievement and joy was his two children, and later on his granddaughter London who happened to be born on his and Mary's 29th wedding anniversary. Jeff is survived by his wife of 34 years Mary Fairchild, his daughter Laura (Avery Minor) Held, son Victor Held, granddaughter London Minor, all of whom still preside in the Northern Virginia area. Jeff will be laid to rest in King David Memorial Gardens on Tuesday during a private service. The family will have a celebration of life at a later date. If you would like to donate to the Alzheimer's Association in honor of Jeffrey Held, please click the link below: https://act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=45891&mfc_pref=T&45891.donation=form1&32112.donation=&_ga=2.265470287.1703473375.1590349567-800392723.1590349567&_gac=1.144885248.1590349947.EAIaIQobChMIis-03qHN6QIVU-WGCh0huQ4IEAAYASABEgJHCPD_BwE&utm_expid=.7rE0GMYjRJCOqqMYgv9Lfg.1&utm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alz.org%2F%3F_ga%3D2.27438076.1703473375.1590349567-800392723.1590349567%26_gac%3D1.170009236.1590349947.EAIaIQobChMIis-03qHN6QIVU-WGCh0huQ4IEAAYASABEgJHCPD_BwE