George Albert Gay

George Albert Gay of Clinton Township died peacefully at Hunterdon Medical Center on March 13, 2022, holding hands with his wife of 62 years, Sandy Gay. George would have celebrated his eighty-fifth birthday on April 4.

George has a large, beloved family. He loved his four children deeply— George K. Gay and his wife Amelia Hinson, of Myrtle Beach, SC; John Gay and his wife Christiane Beljour, of South Orange, NJ; Andrew Gay and his wife Julin Gay, of Berkeley Heights, NJ; and Susanna Gay Silva and her husband Scott Silva, of East Stroudsburg, PA. He also cherished his 10 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren: Marcus and Maya Silva, of East Stroudsburg, PA; Julia and Brian Gay, of Berkeley Heights, NJ; John B. Gay, of Portland Oregon; Theodore and Christian Gay, of South Orange, NJ; Janna Gay, her husband Patrick Kays, and their children Elliott and Frances Kays, of Phillipsburg, NJ; George G Gay, his wife Megan Gay, of Maplewood, NJ, and their children Leah, Emily, and Abigail Gay; Kaitie Gay, her partner Jeremy Schweitzer of Charlotte, NC and their children Cora and Milo Schweitzer. George greatly enjoyed interacting with all of them, whether playing basketball, thumb wrestling, just hugging, or in deep conversation.

George was born in Dunellen, NJ to George M. and Catherine Dillon Gay. He joined his sister Kathleen, who was 18 months old. He started elementary school at St. John’s in his home town and graduated from high school at Delbarton School in Morristown, NJ. He went on to graduate from Bethany College in Bethany,WVA, with a BA in English, and then studied on his own to earn certification in Structural Engineering from International Correspondence Schools. Besides using them professionally, George counted on those engineering skills to design and work on his own homes in Clinton Township and Island Heights, NJ and also on children’s and grandchildren’s houses.

During his working years he held various posts in quality control and sales at Schokbeton, Research-Cottrell, Hamon, Munters, and Tower Performance.

When he was approaching his fiftieth birthday George decided to see if you could actually “teach an old dog new tricks,” so he taught himself how to juggle and ride a unicycle. After attending clown classes at Monmouth County Community College, he combined unicycling and juggling to make appearances at the school fair.

George showed us all how to “follow your bliss.” He also personified life-long learning. If he wanted to know something or gain a skill, he studied it, mostly on his own. He taught himself to play tenor recorder, baritone ukulele, and finally, classical guitar. He built and skillfully used a potter’s wheel to create many ceramic pieces.

George started sailing with a small Sunfish and graduated to a 24 ft. C&C, sailing with family and friends on Spruce Run Reservoir, Barnegat Bay, Chesapeake Bay, the Hudson River, the Atlantic, and the waters of The British Virgin Islands. He broadened his sailing experience by learning to wind surf, even traveling to the mecca of windsurfing, Hood River on the Columbia River Gorge in Oregon.

George was proud of his workshop, which held (according to him) “every tool known to man.” He learned how to use both power and hand tools, from circular and jig saws to MIG and TIG welders, wood and metal lathes. He built, not only houses, but also furniture, containers, shelves, and outdoor structures—anything challenging.

George taught himself to draw, portraits being his favorite. He drew family members and friends, as well as people he observed during business trips. After long hours of color study, he moved on to painting. His last artworks were done with an airbrush or with his computer and electronic pencil—both self taught.

Up through his late seventies, George was an enthusiastic weekly participant in Clinton Township’s Men’s Basketball. Leading up to that, his interest in basketball began in childhood. He played on the varsity team at Delbarton and continued in driveway basketball with his kids.

George served his community by becoming part of Clinton Township’s Recreation Commission and Land Use Committee. For many years he volunteered long hours for Briteside Senior Care Center, guiding the center, as president, to become part of Hunterdon Medical Center, thereby extending the care center’s financial viability. He also served on the Board of Hunterdon Medical Center.

We miss George, we’re always thinking of him, and we have the many and varied projects he left behind to help us keep him close. 

Gathering, life celebration services, and cremation at Somerset Hills Memorial Park Crematory, Bernards Township, NJ, were private under the care and direction of Wright & Ford Family Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 38 State Highway 31, Flemington, NJ.

You are encouraged to visit George’s permanent life celebration site at www.wrightfamily.com to light a candle of hope, leave messages of condolence, share words of comfort and recollection, and post photographs of his life.

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Wright & Ford, your local, family owned & operated “Life Celebration Home”

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