Jay Murray Greer

June 14, 1935 – December 25, 2023

Jay Murray Greer of Balboa Island passed peacefully on Christmas morning 2023. He lived on Balboa Island more than 70 years and spent his life around boats and the water. As a lifelong sailor, he would often be hailed while sailing his red hulled wooden sloop, Red Witch, in the bay or out the channel. Passionate about all that he did, Jay was a man of many talents. He became a fine shipwright, building, designing, and restoring wooden boats, having learned his craft in the late 1950s from some of the last wooden boatbuilders in Newport Beach, California. His skills included carving and detailed woodwork.

When he wasn’t working with boats or wood, Jay was in the mountains where he taught skiing for over thirty years. Although he loved everything he did, he always followed his lifelong creative pursuit of music. He started playing ukulele early in life and later played uke and guitar with several Hawaiian bands. For many years, he played the guitar and sang popular music in coastal clubs. He went on to study and sing pop and classical music, working with several notable vocal coaches.

Jay was born in Glendale, California. His father, Jefferson Murray Greer, had Scotch/Irish roots, the family name coming from the MacGregor clan of Scotland, and had documented ancestry to the American Revolution.

Bernice Carlson Greer, Jay’s mother, was born in Chicago to Swedish immigrants and whose father was instrumental in building the town of Cicero, Illinois.

Jay spent his childhood between Glendale and Newport Beach. He graduated from Newport Harbor High School in 1953 and continued his education, studying pre-med at USC. Jay was a Newport Beach lifeguard for many years. As a member of the U. S. Navy, Submarine Service, he spent several years both in active duty in the mid-50s and in the naval reserve. In the ‘80s he became president of the Greer Building Co., overseeing properties owned in Glendale and the panhandle of Texas. He was a member of Balboa Yacht Club. Following in the footsteps of his father and grandfathers, Jay was proud to be a Master Mason for over 37 years.

Jay and his wife, Anne, were partners in life sharing love and adventure for 50 years. Whenever they could, they spent time in their other home in the Pacific Northwest, where the sea and mountains come together and wooden boats and boatbuilders thrive.

Along with his wife, Jay is survived by his son, Jaime Greer, daughter, Jennifer McCoy, and four grandchildren, Cambria Greer, Carson Greer, Kyle McCoy, and Devin McCoy. Jay was a wonderful and talented person who will be missed and remembered by his family and all who knew him. In lieu of flowers, a gift in Jay’s honor may be made to the Northwest Maritime Center (nwmaritime.org) to further maritime education.