Jay Wechsler

Jay Wechsler passed away on December 4th 2022. Loving father of Max (Natalie) and Samuel (Jessica); adoring grandfather of Benjamin, Grace and Whitney. President of Sugarbush Products, Inc.; Lehigh graduate and ardent Mountain Hawks fan; member, Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity; Lieutenant JG in the U.S. Navy; art patron and past President, Cheltenham Center for the Arts; scholarship contributor, Delaware Valley University; charter member, Center for the Whole Person in Philadelphia; Founder, Samuel Bernardo Foundation; Executive Director of Wexford Llama Farm. Jay (known to his fraternity brothers as Wedge) was an adventurer, yarn-spinner, creative and successful entrepreneur and real-estate investor and nature-lover, as well as a connoisseur—and source—of great stories and family history. Committed to his Jewish heritage and filled with memories of his volunteer days on an Israeli kibbutz, Jay volunteered to fight in the Six Day War  (though it ended before he got to serve). An organic gardener since the 1950s, he was an early practitioner of the philosophy of recycle-and-reuse, particularly in metals. He was an avid collector of…everything. Friends and relatives could expect unique, recycled gifts whenever they saw Jay’s pickup approaching: bicycles, beach umbrellas and camping equipment, Indian-print clothing, toys, jars of land snails. He memorized birds and bird calls. He could pick up a grape from the floor with his toes. He was an urban beekeeper and cannabis cultivator in Philadelphia, an expert groundhog marksman on his Bucks County property, and an avid clammer, crabber and fisherman on Long Beach Island. He could spot a turtle’s head piercing the surface of Barnegat Bay a hundred yards away. He also could spot bull$4!+ from a mile away and would not tolerate it from others—though he was known to fabricate his own versions, including the Midway Island episode, Raven and Flycatcher, and Skippy the Pandemic Puppy. Jay and the stories that surround him are legendary. He is immortal in the memories of the wide swatch of friends and family held in his thrall. Relatives and friends are invited to graveside services on Sunday December 11, 2022 at 12:00pm at Roosevelt Memorial Park (Sec. B). Contributions in his memory may be made to a charity of the donor’s choice.