Born: August 16, 1941
Died: June 25, 2020

Harry Jay Carr was born in Upstate New York in Olean and graduated from Fredonia High School. He was the son of Fred L. and Helen C. Carlson Carr. He used the initial H instead of Harry.

At Yale he was a Physics and Astronomy Major and on Dean’s List. He had a very active undergraduate career. He was a resident of Branford and played on its basketball and soccer teams. He was a member of Alpha Phi Omega for 4 years and campus chairman in 1960. He was also a member of the Political Union 1958-59, the Chess Club (for 4 years and served as president) and the Astronomy Club where he was president our senior year. Jay also played in the Football Band.

After graduation Jay attended graduate school at Purdue, earning his masters in Applied Math. Jay roomed with Yale classmate Doug Kerr for 4 years while attending Purdue.

Jay went into data processing and computers with a bank in Cincinnati, then with the University of Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati Observatory. Subsequently, he worked for 20 years at Amway where he was known as “Doctor Jay” in tech support of the mainframe computers. He grew up, he said, along with computer technology. He settled in Grand Rapids, Michigan where he and his wife raised their children.

Jay was a man of few words except when it came to Scrabble. An avid reader, his preferences were science fiction and history. Competition chess was a favorite pastime as it had been at Yale. Jay achieved Expert status and was a tournament director for many years. He served on the board of the Michigan Chess Association. Board games with friends were enjoyed well into his illness.

Jay was a runner and a member of Grand Rapids Track Club. He also enjoyed volunteering at Meijer Gardens and helping sort books from the Friends of the EGR Library.

Jay was married to Sarabeth Schalliol for 54 years at the time of his death. In addition to Sarabeth he was survived by their two children, Christopher (wife Jessica) and Adrianne Laron and 4 grandchildren.

Jay died from complications of Alzheimer’s. An outdoor Memorial Service is planned for a later date because of the Covid-19 conditions.

 
– R. G. Oliver