Jay will be lovingly remembered by Stella, his wife of 58 years, his sons Don, David and his daughter Victoria.
Jay will also be fondly remembered by his grandchildren Jay, Cody, Matthew, AnnDrea, Michael, Alexandria and great granddaughter Madison.
Jay was born in Globe, Arizona on June 14, 1939. He attended school there from kindergarten through high school. His high school football teams were some of his most fond memories. He attended Northern Arizona University from 1958 – 1962. He received a B.S. degree in 1962.
Jay taught school in Holbrook, Arizona from 1962-67. During this time, he helped coach football, wrestling and track. His teams won Arizona State Championships in wrestling in 1963 and 1964.
His family moved from Holbrook in 1967 to Alturas, CA. There he became a Jr. High School principal/teacher. During this time, he attended California State University, Chico and earned a Standard Services Credential (Administrator’s Credential) in 1973.
In 1973 Jay and his family moved to Happy Camp, CA and assumed the position of Principal of Happy Camp High School. Jay served as the Principal for 25 years.
Immediately following his retirement from Happy Camp High School, he ran for and was elected to the Siskiyou Union School District Board. He served 3 terms on this Board representing Happy Camp.
Jay was also involved in many community events and projects during his life in Happy Camp. He was an active member of the Lion’s Club. He served on the original Community Health Board that was responsible for building the Happy Camp Clinic. He coached numerous sports from T-ball to high school football. He was Santa for countless years in Happy Camp.
Jay was always very involved in promoting activities for students in Happy Camp. No matter where the students of Happy Camp High School were playing a game or involved in an activity Jay would gladly travel with them to support them. He even took up umpiring girls’ softball to make sure that the teams in Happy Camp had qualified umpires when visiting teams came to town.
At home Jay loved his dogs and working around his house. For many years Jay raised a vegetable garden in his yard. His collection of birdhouses and yard art was also a passion for him.
Jay was a staunch supported of both the San Francisco Giants and 49ers. He loved to watch them during their times of success and loudly expressed his displeasure when they lost. However, he never lost his passion for watching them play.
Being a community leader and high school principal made Jay a role model in his community. He believed in the importance of relationships and as a result he had few enemies and sought out opportunities to help everyone.
Jay was a booklover, especially novels about History. His collection of novels was massive. He was very proud of the fact that he had read hundreds of books and that they had taught him much about the world.
Jay made a positive and lasting impression on the lives of more people than one could imagine, and he will be greatly missed by all that knew him.
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