Robert G. Jay, a retired letter carrier, passed away suddenly at his home on Tuesday afternoon, January 17, 2006. He was 72 years old.  Mr. Jay was born in Medford, the son of the late Jonathan and Glorianna Jay.  He grew up in Cambridge and attended Cambridge Latin High School, where he excelled in swimming, diving, and hockey.  Before his junior year, his family moved to Burlington.  It was a quite a change, leaving a large high school, to come to Burlington where he graduated in 1951 in a Class of 12. 

Mr. Jay served in the Army during the Korean War. He attained the rank of Corporal.  He spent much of his time in the service at Ft. Leonard Wood, in Missouri where he taught marksmanship.  He received the National Defense Service Medal and the Good Conduct Medal.  Following his service he took advantage of the GI Bill to go to Boston University and earn a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business.

     Mr. Jay worked for 45 years as a letter carrier for the US Postal Service.  He spent most of those years in Burlington doing the same route in the Fox Hill section of the town.  His pleasant and out going personality made it easy for him to be well liked by the many of the residents on his route.

     Mr. Jay was passionate about sports.  When he was younger he swam, dived, played hockey, golfed and fished.  When his sons were young, he shared his knowledge and interests with them.  He coached Little League Baseball.  His backyard hockey rink was the hit of the neighborhood.  It was also in that backyard rink that he taught his sons to skate and to love the sport of Hockey.  He was thrilled to see his sons excel in the sport and extremely proud to see his son Bobby play hockey at Merrimack College and then go on to play professional hockey for 10 years.

     Mr. Jay is the beloved husband of Lois T. (Tysver) Jay.  He is the loving and proud father of Jonathan & his wife Bridget and Robert & his wife Jennifer all of Burlington.  He is the brother of Kenneth E. Jay of Burlington.  He is the grandfather of Jack, Addison, and Jonathan Jay, Jr.       

     Funeral from the Edward V. Sullivan Funeral Home, 43 Winn St., BURLINGTON (Exit 34 off Rt. 128, Woburn side) on Saturday, January 21 at 9 a.m.  Followed by a Mass of Christian Burial in St. Margaret’s Church at 10 a.m.  Visiting hours Friday 4-8 p.m.  Interment in Pine Haven Cemetery, Burlington.  Memorials in Bob’s name may be made to the Burlington Hockey & Skating Association, P. O. Box 444, Burlington, MA 01803. 

                    Family Remembrance – Bob Jay


I would like to share some thoughts with you about my father, memories of my childhood, and my dad’s influence on Jon and I.


Remembering my father as a person –

Family Man: Always put us first. Always home, around the house – out in the yard either working in his garden, on the house or helping Jon and I with sports, playing catch, chipping golf balls, working on the rink. He never spent money on himself – always put us first. Didn’t care about what car he drove – always a hand-me-down or used – didn’t matter. We had good sports equipment or new clothes for school.


Dedicated Worker: Rain, sleet or snow – he always was on time to work, loyal, took pride in his job (I remember so clearly how neat his uniform always was, his shoes polished to a great shine). Spoke glowingly about the people on his route. Enjoyed being part of their lives. Respected and enjoyed his co-workers.


Good Brother and Son: Growing up across the street from my grandparents I saw how respectful he always was to his parents, never wanting to disappoint them. A protective Big Brother to my Uncle Ken – always bragging to Jon and me about my uncle’s
accomplishments whether umpiring college baseball and soccer or his success as a respected Guidance Counselor in the Burlington Public Schools for over 40 years. Going through pictures on Wednesday night with my mom, we found a letter my Dad wrote to my grandparents while he was away in the Army dated September 1954 – In it he asked “Mom, I supposed Kenny has started school already, huh? Does he find it pretty rough or what? And how is he coming in the Coast Guard Reserve? What is his job down there? Is he meeting his expenses? It’s going to be pretty hard for him to try and support a girl and a car plus the expense of college, huh? Mom, if you need any money don’t be afraid
to cash in come of my bonds. There’s not much but if it can help out, don’t hesitate, ok? Now that he has started I don’t want to him have to quit before at least 4 years of college. Once you get away from it you forget quite a bit. I guess there is not much more to write about except say hello to everyone for me and I’ll try and write more often. I know I’ve said that in my letters before but this time I’ll try harder. So long for now. Love, Bobby.”


My memories of him –
1. Sunday mornings – getting donuts at the Donut Kitchen in Woburn, him reading the Boston Globe.

2. Little League Baseball – my assistant coach for the Red Sox hitting us grounders, pitching batting practice, driving Jon and I to practice, oiling our ball gloves – always Neets Foot Oil.

3. Vacations – PEI – milking the cows, riding horses, seeing where Papa Jay grew up, Bensons Wild Animal Farm, Disneyworld, and of course, camping and canoeing.

4. Fishing – the State Fish Pier in Gloucester with sea worms for bait, Horn Pond, on shore and in the canoe, the patience he showed with us (every 2 minutes - “Dad, I think I got one! Can I reel it in?”)

5. Him out in the yard – working on his garden or trimming the hedges, giving us rides on the sit-down lawnmower, painting the house or cleaning the gutters – the radio on with the Sox game in the background.

6. His love of sports – Telling me how he used to lie in his bedroom when he was young listening to his radio – Ted Williams in the summer, Bob Cousy in the winter. Then, watching tv with me and Jon, it was Bobby Orr and Larry Bird – and recently Jason Varitek and Trot Nixon. He loved the guys that hustled – didn’t like the showboats.


7. All our animals – He was so lovingly of all our pets – from Rags to Shadow and now Maggie and Luci. He loved looking after them. Every night for the past year and a half, when Jen and I would get home after work, if the light over the kitchen sink was on and a few Oreo’s were missing out of the jar in the pantry, we knew Maggie had dinner and my father rewarded himself for the effort.

8. As many probably know, he could nit-pick with the best of them. “Latch the storm door,” “Role the hose up after your done,” “Close your garage door – your gonna gets skunks in there,” “Don’t forget tomorrow’s recycling day,” and before we used anything for the first time, we had to read the directions – “Hey, we got a new toaster!”…”Well, before we plug it in, lets Read the Directions!”

9. And the rink – for 4 months each year during our whole childhood it was his pride and joy. The ice was like glass everyday because he would shovel it and flood it with the garden hose after we all skated. We had lights and boards and the whole neighborhood knew that was the place to be on a cold winter night. As we got older we eventually shot pucks through all the windows in the garage (most times unintentionally) and to our shock, he let us get away with it. His life was centered around us.

What I’ve learned from him and what is with me – most of you know us and it isn’t always easy to show how we feel – Jon and I wondered, “Is he proud of us?” Then I would go up to the Post Office to mail a letter or get stamps and the lady at the counter
would say “Oh, you must be the hockey player.” And Jon I know he was so proud of you, the way you are with the two boys – how loyal a friend you are – your work ethic and how you bend over backwards to help someone but will stand up to anyone who
might try to take advantage of you.


The last few days many different thoughts have gone through my head and I thought of the movie, “Karate Kid.” The boy in the movie wants to learn karate but the old man has him washing his cars and painting his fence, and sanding his deck. After a few days of this, the boy is upset. He says “I want to learn karate and all I do is your chores.” The teacher starts striking him and the kid defends with all the motions he learned doing the chores. He didn’t realize he had been learning karate all along.Shaving this morning I looking in the mirror and noticed I put my shaving cream on just
like my dad (I’m sure it’s from letting me pretend shave with him when I was little). It made me realize he’s taught me so many things – I want to work hard, have pride in my job – be a devoted husband to my wife and a great father to my children. Like the boy in “Karate Kid” he taught Jon and I something and we didn’t even know it at the time…How to be men.


Dad, I want you to know we understand how proud of us you are and more importantly, I want everyone to know how proud we are of you. I love you and I miss you.

 

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