JAY R. RHOADS Jr.

1924 - 2017

RHOADS, Jay R. Jr. Former President and Chairman of the Board of New England Business Service Jay Roscoe Rhoads, Jr., passed away Sunday, February 19 in Vero Beach, Florida. Jay was born in 1924 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the second child of Mary Grace Rudolph and Jay Roscoe Rhoads. He attended Haverford School, then served in the United States Army during World War II, receiving the Bronze Star and promotion to Master Sergeant. Following the war he graduated from Princeton University (class of 1946). Jay married Nancy Virginia Pratt and they had two sons, Jay R. Rhoads III (Terry) and Geoffrey Elliot Rhoads. Jay and Nancy were married for more than fifty years. In 1955, Jay joined New England Business Service, Inc. (NEBS), and with his partner, Al Anderson, he grew it into a very successful business, assisted by his brother, Richard and others. Jay and wife Nancy retired to Vero Beach, Florida and Vinalhaven, Maine, where they found much enjoyment in boating on Penobscot Bay and cruising up and down the East coast. Jay was predeceased by his sister Suzanne, his son Geoffrey, his wife Nancy, and his companion Patty Young. Jay is survived by his brother Richard and wife Margaret, his son, Terry and wife Carolyn, his daughter-in-law, Dixie, grandchildren Mary, Vanessa, James, Chelsea and Connor and two great grandchildren, as well as several nieces and nephews. As he requested, Jay's ashes will be spread on Penobscot Bay near his home in Vinalhaven this summer, following a family memorial service.

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