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Jay Childs Klinck

Jay Klinck Obituary

KLINCK, Jay Childs 68 years young, died peacefully at home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire on December 27, 2011. Jay was born to Carleton Hoagland and Virginia Childs Klinck on April 26, 1943. His early years were spent in Concord and Lexington, Massachusetts, with the family spending summers in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, Jay attended and graduated from The Fenn School and the Concord / Carlisle Regional High School, where he was class president in his senior year. Following school, Jay volunteered for two tours in the U.S. Peace Corps; serving first in India, and then in Micronesia between 1963 and 1968. In 1969, Jay joined the U.S. Navy Seabees where he served in Antarctica. Upon completion of hisNavy Service, Jay continued towork in the polar regions both in Antarctica and in the Arctic, including Greenland and Alaska. Much of his work was undertaken for the National Science Foundation, which honored him for his service wintering as part of a four-man crew at Siple Station, chosen for its location near the Earth's south magnetic pole, with both a letter of commendation and with the naming of an Antarctic feature, the Klinck Nunatak (72Â°4'S63Â°59'W), which rises to an elevation of 5,905 ft in south-central Palmer Land. After more than 25 years of extensive field work in the polar regions, Jay took a break to gain a Master's degree in Polar Studies from the University of Cambridge, England. Following Cambridge, Jay served as expedition leader and lecturer on the ice-strengthened German expedition cruise ship, the Hanseatic, which often frequented polar waters but also explored the Amazon River. Jay's last expedition was to kayak the entire 2,000 mile Yukon River, from its origin in Canada to the mouth at the Bering Sea in Alaska, with his good friend Bill Barber. Along the way, they collected water and riverbed samples for the United States Geological Survey department. Throughout his travels, Jay was an avid collector and photographer, amassing an impressive collection of artifacts and photographs from various far-flung parts of the world. In 2009, Jay returned to permanent residence in Wolfeboro to enjoy an active retirement. Jay is survived by his daughter Suzanne Willet; his brothers Hoagie Klinck and Chip Klinck; his niece Tala Klinck, her husband Doug Rubinson and their son Noah; and his nephews Quinton and Garret. He also leaves behind many cousins throughout New England and an abundance of friends from across the USA and the many parts of the world where he worked or visited. Jay's lively sense of fun and humor, his enthusiasm for life and his graciousness as a host were appreciated by all and helped nurture and maintain his many friendships. He touched many lives and will be missed. There will be no visiting hours. A memorial service will be held in Wolfeboro at a date to be determined.

To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.

Published by Boston Globe from Dec. 29 to Dec. 30, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for Jay Klinck

26 Entries

Julie Palais

July 26, 2021

I am attaching a photo I recently scanned of Jay in Greenland with Bill Barber.

Jean McGavin

November 28, 2012

It is wonderful to see new entries about Jay on this site. I knew Jay while he lived the tamer last part of his life in Connecticut and his last years in New Hampshire. He had told me something of his travels and adventures but hearing others flesh out those stories is a thrill for me. My web site Story Chip has a beautiful and vivid story written by Jay, http://www.storychip.com/chip:travel-amazon. Additionally there is an obituary page on the site, http://www.storychip.com/chip:jay-klinck. Adding your stories to storychip.com would be a great way to share the life of our dear friend.

Tony Perry

November 27, 2012

I worked with Jay in Greenland in 1994 and found him to be one of the most remarkable people I have ever met. I was lucky to have spent time with Jay on many occasions following our return to the states.

Denise Scarrott

October 31, 2012

I have just found this page and did not know of Jay's passing.
I met him on the Kapitan Dranitsyn on a trip through the Northeast Passage in 1996
We formed a close friendship on the trip and a few years later he joined me in South Africa and we spent a delightful time touring the beautiful Garden Route of the Western Cape.
On the Dranitsyn three of us formed a trio doing most things together - Jay, me and Antonio Martinez an intrepid adventurer himself. I spent enthralling times with them as they recounted their exploits - Jay with his polar experiences and Antonio who had undertaken a monstrous unmechanised trip along the northern coast of Canada (recorded in a documentary called Foot, Paddle and Paws)
Although Jay's return trip to South Africa was scuppered by an unfortunate encounter with an iceberg and we eventually lost touch, he will forever remain a very dear memory with his great enthusiasm for life in all its aspects and I share the grief of all who knew him at his passing

Verne Smith MD

January 26, 2012

I was Palmer Station's doctor during Deep Freeze 70 and have fond memories of Jay and his enthusiasm to tackle any situation we encountered. The seabees had left an old WWII crane on the station grounds and Jay decided to use it to move some heavy crates. His learning curve on the "new" machine came to a halt when he came close to dropping a crate on the CPO.
I last saw Jay about 8 years ago when we had lunch together in Denver and enjoyed rehashing our time on the ice.

Stephen Cofer-Shabica

January 23, 2012

Jay and I were together at Palmer Station, Antarctica during Deep Freeze '70. Jay was good story teller, funny, a listener, a drinker, always ready to head out on the ice, and always cheerful.
I think he would appreciate this: One of my very fond recollections of the two of us was when I asked, and then Jay taught me how to drive and operate a D9 Caterpillar Tractor.
He was also the only one of us to swim in the -1.0 C water with only his shorts or was it just his b-day suit? The years have fogged some events, but not my recall of the man. My condolences to his family and friends on this loss.

Dave Steward

January 22, 2012

Jay and I wintered-over together at Palmer Station, Antarctica. We last saw one another in February of '71 after spending 13 months at the station. He was fondly called "Colonel" at the station after the popular TV show of the time. While there, we had many explorations on the glacier, on and under the ice, and around the fireplace.

January 16, 2012

Thank you Jay for being so good to my mother before she died.
You will always be here in our memories until, hopefully, we meet again.

Co Mayo Ireland

Sharon Hubrich

January 16, 2012

Jean McGavin

January 13, 2012

Jay was a dear friend and I will miss him greatly. My heartfelt condolences to his family and to the wide circle of his friends around the world.

Gay Tracy

January 11, 2012

It is great to learn more about what Jay did. Besides being fun and social, he was modest about all his achievements. He was someone who really enjoyed life to the fullest and he will be missed.
Gay Tracy

northern coastline of the North Island, NZ

vicki dilling

January 6, 2012

My sincere condolences to Jay's family and friends ~
I had the pleasure of meeting one the most interesting, kind gentleman in my many years living in Wolfeboro. He and is mother took me on a boat ride I will never forget.
My cousin, Dr. John Rummel accomplished scientific work in Antarctica, Jay did such interesting work, traveled to exotic places. Jay lived in Nelson NZ, a place I have dreamed of living. We sat by the water and talked about the wonders of NZ this last summer, I saw him briefly since. What a fine and modest gentleman with a lovely sense of humor. I have a photograph he sent as a thank you that I will cherish. We will miss Jay.

Ron Pepin

January 6, 2012

I have known Jay and the entire Klinck family since I first met Chip at UVM in 1960 and visited their home in Concord, Mass.shortly thereafter. I got to know Jay & Hoagie both very well over the next two decades and actually qot quite close to Jay for a year or so. I always enjoyed his company, his intelligence, and especially his sense of humor. He was a fine man and consumate gentleman. He will be missed.

Michael Gately

January 6, 2012

To Jay's Family and Friends,

Ali and I share in your loss and sorrow. From the first time we met Jay on Main Street in Hinesburg, VT, until his passing to be with his beloved Mom, Ginnie, we felt Jay was like the brother we never had. We will sadly miss his great wit, love, and joie de vivre. Whether it was on our porch on Main Street, talking across the miles on a ham radio in Antarctica, the Defense Switch Network in Greenland, or just "popping-in" to say "Hi!" he brightened our lives. We are forever grateful for having him in our lives and his spirit will live on always.

Mike and Ali Gately

January 3, 2012

Jay was a truly wonderful person who is going to be very very missed by so many people. A true class act a true gentleman . He had a wonderful sense of humor, great warmth and understanding. I feel very fortunate that I got to know him and considered him a true friend

Karen hubrich

Beverly Mosch

January 2, 2012

To Jay's Family and Friends,
Only this afternoon I wrote a long overdue email to Jay bringing him up to date on our family activities. I didn't hear anything back, so with a large measure of dread I checked the New Hampshire obits. What a blow to discover that he had just passed away.

Around Thanksgiving I had spoken to a friend of Jay's and learned that he wasn't doing well and had already gone to bed - so I didn't have a chance to talk with him then. I promised to send him an email soon but the holidays intervened.

Jay rented our guest house here in Connecticut for a couple of years starting in April of 2008. He was an estate manager and a consummate professional and gentleman - with a wicked sense of humor that caused us to disintegrate into laughter on so many occasions. I particularly remember being told to "get the hell off my lawn" once when I walked past the guest house to deliver weeds to the compost. We have a marvelous grape arbor where we had dinner on summer evenings - Jay joined us many times always entertaining us with stories of his adventures in Antartica and other chilly places. He lived here when he discovered his daughter - what a moment of joy for him.

Tonight our daughter Ledlie and son-in-law Ben stopped by with their new baby Lilly to share a bottle of champagne for the New Year. And Carter, our son, rolled in from a weekend in NYC. We raised a glass to Jay with tears in our eyes. He truly lit up our lives. We hope someone will keep us posted on a memorial service - we will do our best to attend.

Bev and Woody Mosch
Carter Mosch
Ben and Ledlie (Mosch) Pastor
23 Wood Creek Road, Bethlehem, CT 06751
[email protected]

Judi

January 2, 2012

I will long remember our last visit and the wonderful lunch at Garwoods. The CCHS "Babes" learned a lot about Jay and his life's journeys that day and I know I speak for all when I say we have those memories to fall back on when we think of Jay. Although very ill, Jay was a gracious host, still with that dry wit and always that twinkle in his eyes. I still see him smiling when saying our goodbyes and talking about the sign in his garage---KLINCK KLANCK KLUNCK. May all his friends and family find good memories to carry them through this difficult time. My sincere condolences to all who called him family and friend.

Julie Palais

January 1, 2012

Jay was the camp manager at Summit, Greenland in the early 1990's. That's where I got to know him. In 2007 when several of us from the Greenland days were going to be in New York City he came all the way down from CT to see us. I was extremely touched that he would go out of his way to come see us. While I didn't know him well I found him to be a very thoughtful person. He will be missed by all of his polar friends.

Joanne Gibson-Schorn

December 31, 2011

I have wonderful memories of Jay. My Grandmother Anna Vigliotti worked for the Klincks when they lived in Concord. I think my Grandmother raised Chip, Hogie and Jay, she loved them as her own. I would go with my Grandmother to Wolfboro to the lake house. Jay told me he would give me a quarter if I ate my scrambled eggs which I didn't like, I ate them and never got the quarter. At his Mother's memorial service I told him I wanted the quarter. We had a good laugh. Jay went on to accomplish so much in his short time here. Jay was fun loving, kind hearted and loved his family and friends. My condolences to his brothers, his daughter, extended family and friends who loved him also. You had a good ride Jay. Thanks for the memories.

Grant & Nancy Doe

December 31, 2011

I served with Jay in India as a Peace Corps Volunteer in 1964/65. Later my wife & I were working in Micronesia while he was stationed there in 1967/68. He was a cherished friend, a talented and delightful man. Our deepest sympathies are extended to all his family and friends. We both share your grief.

Annette Shaw

December 30, 2011

I grew up in Concord with Jay and his family. Jay was also a close friend of my late brother Tom Shaw. My mother Lester Shaw and Jay's mother Giny were best friends. So we go back a very long way. Jay was so much fun to be with, so alive and full of new ideas. Always present and attentive. He came out to our home near Vancouver BC a few years ago, and we had the most wonderful visit with him. Jay was a really unique and caring person. He will be greatly missed. My deepest sympathy to his family and friends.

Bill and Elaine Martin

December 30, 2011

We have many fond memories of great times shared with Jay in high school.
He was always fun to be with, and lit
up the room with his quick wit and humor. He will be missed by many. Elaine and Bill Martin

Anthony Willcox

December 30, 2011

I grew up with the Klinck Brothers in Concord. Hoagie, Jay and I went to Fenn School. After Fenn and Concord High School Jay and I had two "Hot Rods". His was a '34 Ford Coupe with a big Chevy and mine was a '34 Ford Roadster with a Ford 312ci motor. We had many a late night cruze. Some times at speeds well over the posted suggestions. Through the years we stayed somewhat in touch throughout a lot of his adventures. When he lived in Vail and Denver we spent more time together because I also live in Colorado. My last correspondence with Jay was to send him a picture of our "Hot Rods" parked in Elliott Clarks driveway in Concord. Jay will be missed. He is now on the greatest adventure of them all.

John Pfeil

December 30, 2011

I met Jay through a common friend in Santa Fe, NM. He was a warm, wonderful, man who had some of the best stories of Antarctica, Greenland and his many adventures.

To Jay's family and friends, I very sorry for your loss. He was a good man.

December 30, 2011

Sorry for your loss.Jay was a friend from Concord
Bob Crawford

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