March 26, 2005 Jay Emery

His doctors gave Jay Emery six months to live with his metastasizing cancer. But our popular classmate and longtime class treasurer, lived two years, and much of the extra time seems to have been devoted to pleasant pursuits. He was able  to outski some of his classmates and enjoy his beloved family during his gallant fight against the disease. We miss him terribly, but we can be thankful for that.

 

Jay, a Vietnam war hero and winner of the Distinguished Flying Cross, and the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters, died at his home in Hanover on March 26, 2005.

 

At a memorial service April 2 at the Dartmouth Skiway attended by 250 friends, including a dozen classmates, a farewell message composed by Jay was read.

 

"I want all my family and friends to know I feel I had a wonderful life full of fun and adventure and good friends," he wrote in part. "It was a great ride. I'm leaving it a little sooner than I had hoped, but I don't have any regrets. I have a great family with Wendy and Eric providing more love and support than one could hope for. RT and Patrick were also great to have around until they left home.

 

"I did a lot in my life, smokejumping, sport parachuting, flying fighters, scuba diving, skiing and traveling all over the world. I had a very full life and the best part of it has been the last 20 years here in Hanover. It is a wonderful town to bring kids up in and at the same time it offers adults everything they could want. Just save up enough to get out of town in November and March."

 

Class President Rick Roesch said of Jay: "He was a truly wonderful person, good in the grandest sense of that word. He was good to other people, and they truly loved and cared for him in return. In this last year, no matter where we went in town, folks of all sorts always asked how Jay was doing. It made one feel special to be known as his friend."

 

Jay served several terms as class treasurer, and at our homecoming dinner last October, all of the 1960 class presidents issued a special proclamation that concluded, "Because of his incredible loyalty, generousity, with this true and long service to his classmates, with deep appreciation, the Class of 1960 recognizes Jay Emery for his extraordinary achievements."

 

The Class certainly knew that for many years Jay was the person to call for official information about what was going on in Hanover, to make arrangements for attending our homecomings and reunions. But most classmates did not know that Jay had had such a distinguished military career before coming back to Hanover to work 20 years for Dartmouth College as a development officer.

 

Jay O. Emery grew up in Ridgewood, N.J. He was an Eagle Scout, spending several summers at the Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico as both a camper and staff member. He attended college in Utah his Freshman year, before transferring to Dartmouth, where he was a member of the Outing Club, competed on the ski team and was in Air Force ROTC. Summers were spent as a U.S. Forest Service smokejumper in Idaho.

 

In all, he completed three jump schools in the Forest Service, the Parachute Club of America and the Air Force, accumulating 400 parachute jumps in all.