Norman F. Jay Sr.

1933 - 2020

Norman F. Jay, Sr., 86, was born on November 25th, 1933 at Illinois Central Hospital in Chicago, Illinois to Richard Hill Jay and Frances Marian Lasher Jay. He graduated from Hinsdale Township High School in 1951 and DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana in 1955, with a BA in Economics. He was a member of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity. Norm valued education and established a scholarship fund at DePauw University that awards an annual scholarship to a deserving student. He was an Eagle Scout. He was also a veteran of the U.S. Navy and participated in Operation Deep Freeze II, which established a Naval Base in Antarctica in 1956. Enroute to the South Pole, he voted for the first time after which he never missed a vote throughout his entire life. He was a lifelong salesman covering the midwest and the southern United States. For fifty-plus years, Norm was heavily active in the Masonic Fraternity and was the leader of four different bodies. He ran a multitude of blood drives for the Masons and personally donated over four gallons of blood throughout his lifetime. For forty-five years, he was an avid collector of Antique Brewery Advertising and was the president of the National Association of Breweriana Advertising, a collection organization, from 1998-2002. Outside of the Masons and Breweriana collecting, he was a world traveler and enjoyed playing tennis. Norm was also an active member of Gary United Methodist Church forty-seven years. In 1958, he met, courted, and married Judith Harding, a kindergarten teacher in Western Springs, Illinois on August 29th, 1959 at First Methodist Church in Ottawa, Illinois and proceeded to reside in Brookfield, Illinois; Nashville, Tennessee; and Wheaton, Illinois. Norm and Judy were fortunate to have three wonderful children…Martha (John) Johnson, Fred, and Amy plus two grandchildren, Cynthia (Trey) Jansen and John Johnson, and two step-grandchildren, Benjamin and Brian Johnson. He is survived by his wife, three children, four grandchildren, brother John (Mary Jo) Jay and sister Judith Sherman. He was preceded in death by his parents. Because of the COVID 19 pandemic, a private service will be held at Wheaton Cemetery. A celebration of life service is planned for a later date at Gary Memorial United Methodist Church in Wheaton, Illinois. Memorial gifts may be directed to Gary Memorial United Methodist Church, located at 224 North Main Street, Wheaton, IL 60187.