YARMOUTH and FALMOUTH – Jay Madeira, 85, died Oct. 5, 2006, in Falmouth, by the sea. Mr. Madeira was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Northampton, Mass., along with his sisters, Joan and Sally, by his widowed mother. He graduated from Deerfield Academy in 1940 and Princeton University in 1944. His studies at Princeton were interrupted by World War II. When war was declared, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and qualified as navigator of the B-17 heavy bomber, eventually flying on 55 missions over occupied Europe. On one occasion his plane received heavy damage over the enemy target, but he and the crew managed to bring it back over friendly territory before being forced to bail out. His high school French was instrumental in helping the crew locate allied troops. He was discharged in 1945 as a first lieutenant. After the war, he returned to Princeton where he completed his studies and met Catherine “Kitty” Lewis, the vivacious Radcliffe student who would become the love of his life. He was predeceased by Kitty after 55 years of marriage in 2002. Jay was a manager with insurance firms, retiring from Union Mutual. In semi-retirement he provided accounting services and management counseling to numerous small businesses in the Greater Portland area. His interests included a life-long enthusiasm for bird watching, gunk-holing on the coast of Maine, aboard the family sailboat Kittiwake, and hiking and backpacking with family and friends. He enjoyed all genres of music and was a member and leader of Doc’s Banjo Band, playing gigs throughout Maine. Jay was a conservationist and environmentalist serving as chairman of the Maine Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club, and later on the AMC Board of Directors. He was also a member of the Baxter State Park Advisory Committee and a long time member of the Portland Yacht Club. Surviving are his four sons and their spouses, Peter and Suzanne of Bernard, Tim and Kathleen of Grass Valley, Calif., Matt and Martha of Portsmouth, N.H., and Fred and Trish of Cumberland. There are 10 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. A service of remembrance will be held 11 a.m. Monday, Oct. 9, at the Portland Yacht Club. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Save the Steeple Fund, First Universalist Church, 97 Main St., Yarmouth, ME 04096.
JAY MADEIRA
