He was born on March 17, 1943 in Hartford CT, son of the late John S. and Virginia T. Mosbaugh. His father worked for Sinclair Oil, so he moved around as a young child living in NY and TX until the family finally relocated back to New England. He primarily grew up in West Chesterfield, NH where his parents owned and operated Riverside Motel and Cabins. He also lived in in Boston MA, Durham NH and Spofford, NH.
Jay graduated from Brattleboro Union High School in June of 1961. After high school, he attended the University of New Hampshire and graduated in 1964 from Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston, MA with a degree in Electrical Engineering. He continued his education taking classes at Keene State College as well.
On October 19, 1968, he married Lee Hanna of Keene, NH. They have lived in their current home in Keene since 1976.
From 1965 until 1970 Jay worked as an Electrical Engineer at MPB Corporation in Keene where he worked on engineering missile guidance systems for the military. He then was Manager for two Radio Shack Stores, one in Claremont from 1970-1971 and then in Brattleboro, VT from 1971-1976. He went back to engineering when he joined Pneumo Precision in 1976 doing research and development in the field of micro precision metrology and machining systems. He continued his career there until 1992 when he transferred to Ametek Precitech Corporation as the Electrical Engineering Manager working in ultra-metrology and machining systems. He was there until his retirement in 2010.
Jay and his wife owned and operated The Woodshed Clothiers, a traditional woman’s clothing store, in downtown Keene from 1988 until 1995.
Jay was very involved with his daughters’ equestrian and 4-H endeavors and could typically be seen perched in the back of his pickup truck bed with his video camera documenting the horse shows. He would frequently be seen underneath a hood of a car or truck. He started turning wrenches at a young age rebuilding a Chevy engine as a teenager. For many years, he had a side business installing state of the art stereo systems in people’s vehicles. He loved classic rock and liked to listen to it loudly, especially while driving. He was a NASCAR enthusiast and often attended races in Limerock, CT. Jay played in the men’s golf league at Bretwood until it got difficult to play due to his Parkinson’s. He loved animals and tried to stay active towards the end by walking Lexie, Jay and Lee’s beloved Bernese Mtn Dog.
Jay is survived and will be missed by his wife of 53 years, Lee (Hanna) Mosbaugh of Keene; his two daughters, Katherine Thomas and her husband, Brett Thomas, of Spofford NH; Megan Merritt and her husband, Joshua Merritt, of Vernon, VT; his three grandchildren, Margaret Thomas and Samuel Thomas of Spofford, and Colby Merritt of Vernon, VT; a sister in law, Lynne Mosbaugh of Frisco, CO. Jay was predeceased by his younger brother Robert S. Mosbaugh of Frisco CO in June of 2010. Jay will also be missed by his many friends and colleagues he made throughout his life.
A burial service will be held October 1, 2021 at 1:00pm in the Monadnock View Cemetery, Park Avenue, Keene NH. Friends and family are invited to attend a celebration of life reception directly after burial at the Summit Winery, Route 12, Westmoreland, NH.
Memorial donations may be made in the name of Jay Mosbaugh to Amazing Grace Animal Sanctuary, 161 Centre Street, Sullivan, NH 03445 or online at https://amazinggraceanimalsanctuary.org/donate/#programs; or to Parkinson’s Research Donation Processing, The Michael J. Fox Foundation, P.O. Box 5014 Hagerstown, MD 21741-5014 or online at www.michaeljfox.org
Jay’s family would like to thank the nurses and staff of American House (formerly Bentley Commons) for the care and kindness they showed Jay in the last three and a half years he lived there.
