John "Jay" Jennison

John "Jay" Jennison February 15, 1948 - July 9, 2010 John Charles "Jay" Jennison, III, 62, died July 9, 2010, following a 10 month battle with cancer. He was born in St. Augustine in 1948 and after a business career in Washington, D. C., New York, and south Florida, he returned home in 1999. After founding the technology consulting firm Access Systems, Jay coached golf at Flagler College and was most recently the Executive Director of the First Tee of St Johns County. Although Jay moved often in his early years with his military family, he always considered St. Augustine his home. Jay received his Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia in 1971 and his Juris Doctor from Stetson University College of Law in 1975. That same year he was admitted to the Florida Bar. He also served in the Florida National Guard. Jay was a passionate amateur golfer. After winning the Virginia State Amateur and playing on the University of Virginia golf team, he competed in the US Amateur, the British Amateur, the US Mid-Amateur, and numerous other golf events. He was the club champion at six different clubs during his lifetime, but his proudest golf achievement was founding the St. Augustine Amateur in 2004. The tournament supports the program and mission of the First Tee of St. Johns County, which aims to impart life values and build character in children through the game of golf. Jay described the tournament's vision in the following way: "The best expression of the game lies in high level amateur competitions and the fellowship and sportsmanship attendant at such events. It is our vision to conduct an event which provides this experience for players, sponsors, volunteers, and all who come in contact with the St. Augustine Amateur." In addition to being the chairman of the St. Augustine Amateur, Jay was a member of the Rotary Club of St. Augustine and a former Senior Warden on the Vestry at Trinity Episcopal Church. Jay is survived by his wife of 35 years, Martha Booth Jennison; his daughter Clarinda McFadden, her husband Ian, and their daughter Celia of Redding, California; his daughter Catherine Honeycutt and her husband, Miles, of Durham, North Carolina ; his son, John C. Jennison, IV, and his fiancee, Sarah Cantrell of Kansas City, Missouri; and his brothers Wesley, of Jacksonville, Florida, and George, of Richmond, Virginia, and their families. Jay was preceded in death by his father, Col. John C. Jennison, Jr; his mother, Clarinda Jackson Jennison, a native of St. Augustine; his sister, Clint Clarinda "Lindy" Jennison, and his grandson, Alec Jackson Farrell. His family and friends will miss Jay's humor, his intellectual curiosity, his love of history and science, his sense of fair play, his optimism, and his faith. There will be a service to celebrate his life at Trinity Episcopal Church on Wednesday, July 14 at 3:00 p.m. The Jennison family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be made to either The First Tee of St. Johns County or the Trinity Episcopal Parish Endowment Fund. St. Johns Family Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.