Jay S. Tracy , Jr.

Jay S. Tracy, Jr., of East Walpole and Punta Gorda, Fl and formerly of Needham passed away peacefully after a short battle with cancer at the age of 74 on April 17, 2021 at the Tidewell Hospice House in Port Charlotte, FL.  Jay was the devoted husband of Carol A. (Hartshorn) and loving father to Jay T. and his wife Nancy (Regan} of Needham and Theodore C. of East Walpole.  He was the indulgent Pop Pop to granddaughter Addison Olivia of Needham.  He is survived by his sister Janet (Tracy) Yered and her husband George of Millis, sister-in-law Sandra L (Hartshorn) Hicks and her husband Charles of Wrentham, and nieces Michelle, Kimberly, Melanie, Jennifer,and nephew Jamie.  He was the son of the late Jay S. Tracy, Sr and late Geraldine N. {Chappelle} Tracy of Needham.

Jay met his wife in Falmouth while both were vacationing.  They were married in 1971 and settled in Needham.  This October Jay and Carol would have celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary.

 Jay graduated from Wentworth Institute with an Associate in Architecture in 1966 and went on to complete his Bachelor degree in Architecture at the University of Arizona graduating in 1970. Before becoming the coordinating architect in 1980 for the merger of the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, the Robert Breck Brigham Hospital, and the Boston Hospital for Women, he worked for companies in Hingham, Braintree, and Shrewsbury.  Jay went back to school nights at Northeastern University to receive his MBA degree in 1986.  After completing the construction of the merged hospitals which became Brigham and Women’s Hospital, he went into private practice as Jay S. Tracy Jr. Architect. A few of his Commercial projects were new buildings and renovations at Mt Ida College, new construction at North Hill, and renovations to the house on South Street that became the Stanley Tippett Hospice House.  Jay designed many of the houses built in the Bridal Trail area of Needham.  He also enjoyed working with clients who were planning to renovate their homes.  He would help them decide what would work best for them.  In a few rare cases he talked the client out of changing their home as it was either not cost effective or would not suit their life plans.  He also volunteered his services for the design of the Carlton Pavilion at Defazio Field and the renovations of the former field house at Memorial Park.

He semi-retired in 2004 to go back to school at the International Yacht Restoration School (IYRS) in Newport, RI to learn to build wooden boats.  He was the oldest member of the class. He graduated in 2006 and went on to build two small boats and a Duck Trap Wherty boat which he then rowed in the canals of Punta Gorda, Florida during the snow bird season.

Besides volunteering his architectural and building skills, Jay volunteered in the community.  He was President of Pop Warner Football, helped coordinate the first Christmas tree sale for the Boosters Club at Needham High School, worked on the February Hockey Tournament at St Sebastian’s Rink, and was an assistant Little League baseball coach.

He loved family time and was besotted by his granddaughter.  He was thrilled to be able to be her care giver for six weeks between the time her mother returned to teaching and permanent day care arrangements started.  He loved babies so much that he offered to do day care one day a week for his god daughter’s first child.  He also offered for her second child but other arrangements had been made. However, when she asked if he would do day care one day a week for her third child he was beyond happy.  He just loved babies so much.

He enjoyed being busy which could be yard work, especially using his backhoe, wood working, using antique tools from his growing collection, or helping someone with whatever they needed done.

He and Carol were fortunate to be able to go on trips with traveling companions to Alaska, Las Vegas, Georgia and South Carolina, Washington, D.C., and a west coast trip that included Yosemite, Yellow Stone, Lake Tahoe, Napa Valley and San Francisco.  Their last trip was to Scotland for Carol to find her ancestors.  Jay and Carol shared a trip to Hawaii with their sons, daughter-in-law and granddaughter for their 70th birthdays.

Genealogy was also one of his past times.  A west coast cousin tracked him down and came east for a visit and together they spent a week on the north shore continuing their search for missing relatives.  He has pages and pages of his research.  He was even able to learn that his wife and his high school friend share an eighth great-grandfather, Ebenezer Hartshorn. 

Jay will be remembered for his love of chocolate and Brigham’s ice cream, teasing, smile, and willingness to always be of help.

Visitation will be at Eaton Funeral Home, 1351 Highland Ave, Needham, on Friday,  June 11 from 4 to 7 PM. Burial will be private.  In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the IYRS School of Technology & Trades, 449 Thames St, Newport, RI 02840 or https://iyrs.edu.

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