JAY SILVERSTON

SILVERSTON, Jay Beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather, died peacefully at his home in Lexington. Jay lived a life on the cutting edge; in his career in engineering; in his dry gentle sense of humor, and in his relentless commitment to the people he cared about. Family was the center of his universe. Born in Brooklyn in 1935, to Julius and Rose Silverston, Jay grew up in Flatbush with his sister Nona (z"l), was a concert pianist, playing in a youth program at Carnegie Hall at 14. He attended high school at Brooklyn Tech, and came to Boston, which he would call home his entire adult life, to attend MIT. At MIT he studied mechanical engineering, and became a member of the Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity. His class ring, the "Brass Rat", was one of his most cherished possessions. He later received his masters in Electrical Engineering at Northeastern. After graduating, he worked at many leading technology companies in the area, including Honeywell, Raytheon, and Polaroid, always finding himself working on leading edge technology, including as a co-founder of Xenergy, a first of its kind energy saving consultancy launched during the 1970s energy crisis. Later, his firm, Jay M. Silverston & Associates was a leading engineering consulting company specializing in museum environments with clients such as the Art Institute of Chicago and Harvard. Though born in New York, and a Brooklyn Dodgers fan (the Dodgers broke his heart when they moved to LA), Jay embraced Boston as soon as he arrived. He was a committed Red Sox and Patriots fan (he was a season ticket holder in the early days of Schaffer/Sullivan stadium), where he enjoyed bringing his kids to football games every weekend. He was an active community leader, former Brotherhood president at Temple Isaiah of Lexington, Little League Coach, and in retirement, a devoted grandfather; "Papa" as his grandkids called him. He never met a cookie or slice of pizza he did not like, and was a fast car enthusiast. Jay's legacy is the many people he touched. Jay met Carol, the love of his life, at an MIT mixer (when she was a junior in high school), and they married in 1957. Together for 67 years, they raised three sons, and built a large and warm community of friends and family.They traveled the world, and for years played duplicate bridge every month with their close friends. In addition to his wife Carol, Jay leaves behind his three sons, Andrew, Neil, and Chuck Silverston; daughters-in-law Jackie Silverston, Risa Shames, Lauren Small, and Nancy Leventhal; his four grandchildren Alyssa Koulopoulos (and her husband Paul Koulopoulos), Isabel Silverston, Danny Silverston, and Lilli Silverston. And of course, his great-grandson Max. Remembrances may be made to the MIT Resources for Women @ innovation.mit.edu/resources/mit.resources-for-women or to The Parkinson Program at Jewish Family & Children's Service @ jfcsboston.org.