Jay Wilson

Wilson, Jay
Jay Wilson's long journey is over and it ended on March 22, 2015. The journey started in Minnesota in 1936, where he spent the summer months on a lake in the log cabin built by his father, and ended in New London, New Hampshire, looking at the almost identical view outside the bedroom window of the house he and his wife, Gabi, built. His path took him to Phillips Academy, Andover ('54) and Yale ('58), where he made lifelong friends. They continued to meet regularly and to laugh together until his very last days. Jay's capacity for laughter was legendary, and his ability to laugh at himself endeared him to many.
He took his first trip to Europe in 1955, while a freshman at Yale, and fell in love with both travel, Europe, and England, specifically. In an early letter home Jay remarked that he would like to study at Cambridge University one day, and in fact did so, a few years later.
His life's journey included several international, particularly British, connections: his daughter Amanda was born in London when he was working there for the Reader's Digest. His daughter Heather was named after the Scottish moorland flower. His English wife, Gabi, and her two children were joined some years later by Jay's two English nephews, whom he absorbed wholeheartedly into the family. Together with his six grandchildren, they form one of his strongest legacies.
His love of travel never waned and spilled over into his business life where he ended his 40-year career at Roper Starch Worldwide with an international company he had built virtually from scratch.
Jay left his professional mark on many companies, institutions and organizations; what he will be remembered for most is his incredible loyalty and his generous encouragement to those who worked with and for him.
If Jay was asked whether he'd retired, Gabi would roll her eyes, because, far from retiring, he remained active and interested in consulting work and served on various corporate boards until very recently. He was also an active member of the Board of Directors of Colby Sawyer College in New London, NH, where he acted as the gadfly who encouraged new ways of looking at college issues.
He and Gabi travelled widely and visited every continent except Antarctica. With six children and their respective spouses, and six grandchildren, he was always on the lookout for gifts, which he would generally buy in sets of six. His suitcase on the return leg of his trips would often require an excess baggage payment as a result.
Jay is no longer carrying excess baggage, but we who are left will carry him in our hearts, always.
He is survived by his wife, Gabi, children Amanda and Barb Wilson, Heather and Ned Saunders, Adam Coatsworth, Helenka Coatsworth, Fred Wright and Bertie Wright, as well as grandchildren Natalie, Ellie, Madelyn, Max, Annabel and Charlotte.
In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to Colby-Sawyer College to create the W. Jay Wilson Memorial Scholarship Fund. Please direct contributions to Beth Cahill, Colby-Sawyer College, 541 Main Street, New London NH 03257.
To sign an online guestbook please visit www.chadwickfuneralservice.com.