Edwin Jay Whitcomb

Jay was the consummate everyman who never met a stranger. He enjoyed finding common ground among new acquaintances and lifelong friends, even to his last days, seeing the similarities, rather than the differences, that connect all of us. He was a steadfast and loyal friend, and his friendships spanned all the nine decades of his life, from Maryland to Michigan. His happy laugh and quintessential “Dad jokes” delighted his friends and family.

Jay ran E. J. Whitcomb & Sons, Inc. with his son Tom, for more than three decades, alongside Min Shein who was a skilled worker and his “adopted”Burmese son. Jay and his company were known for an honest and reliable work ethic throughout Maryland and the greater D.C. area. Even the week prior to his sudden death he was checking on customers to make sure their orders were correct.

He was a Mason, and active in the Washington, D.C.’s Almas Shrine Center, and in the Order of Scottish Rite. He was a Shriner clown, known as Jay Bird, and loved riding the antique fire truck in District of Columbia’s Cherry Blossom Festival Parade, and other D.C. area venues. He also marched in the yearly gathering of the Mid-Atlantic Shriners Associaton (MASA) for their annual fall parade in Virginia Beach, until his health stopped him from participating. He loved his Shriner Almas Yacht Club friends and the couple had so much fun attending socials and galas with the group.

Jay and Nancy, his beloved wife of almost 69 years, loved to travel, both internationally and nationally. They spent years going to Ocean City Maryland, St. Michael’s, and later, Nags Head where all the family met for beach time and eating his favorite food, crabs. Later, when their children moved to Atlanta, Boston and Ft. Lauderdale, respectively, the couple made regular trips for holidays and birthday celebrations. In June, Jay celebrated his 91st birthday in Florida watching his granddaughter, Mia, a ballerina, dance in a production of Don Quixote.

A Maryland native, Jay moved his family to Birmingham, Michigan for a job opportunity. Knowing no one, Jay immediately made new friends in the neighborhood and in church. When the family moved back to Maryland almost two decades later, he maintained those connections, and their Michigan friends made frequent visits to their Silver Spring home. The couple found their church home at Pilgrim Congregational Church where he became active on the church board, and his wife, Nancy, taught Sunday School. They have been members for more than three decades, making lifelong friends.

He was a voracious reader, especially enjoying history and mysteries, and swapped books with his daughter, Becky, his son-in-law, Rick, and his son Jim. During his life, he dabbled in woodworking, and family members were gifted with duck decoys, wooden boxes and different versions of school clocks.

When his declining health led the couple to move from their home in the fall of 2024, they chose Asbury Methodist Village and again, Jay jumped in, meeting people in the Mund Building and becoming a regular at the Wednesday morning coffee meetings, bridge dates, and spending time in the building lobby working on 1,000-piece jigsaw puzzles. Jay started taking continuing education classes and loved learning new things, becoming a board member of Asbury’s Keese School Speaker Series. He was a regular at his church Bible Study classes, and was known to comment that nothing has changed much in the nature of Mankind since the early days, despite our technological advancements.

Jay was a graduate of Montgomery Blair High School, where he met his wife, Nancy. The couple started a lifelong love affair as teenagers. After graduating from Roanoke College, where he joined the Sigma Chi Fraternity, Jay and Nancy married in August 1957. They would have celebrated their 69th wedding anniversary on August 17. Jay joined the U.S. Marines for a short stint, and his daughter, Rebecca, was born on the naval base in Cherry Point, N.C.

Jay’s death leaves a huge void in the family and in his community. His presence, love and laughter will be missed by his children and their spouses: Rebecca, (Rick), Jim (Stirling), Tom, and John, (Marisol) and his grandchildren, Ally, (Matt), Sean (Tucker), Kate, Emily, Mia, and Gianfranco, and great-grandchildren, Archer, Sloane, Orlin and Miller.

Jay was a great older brother, and is survived by his three sisters, Kay, Nancy and Peggy, and his brother-in-law, Fred and sister-in-law, Rosemary, as well as his extended family of nieces and nephews.

A Celebration of Life service at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Wheaton, Maryland is planned for Saturday, September 26, 2026.