Obituary of Jay Edwards

Jay Edwards,66, of Maine, NY, passed away peacefully in his home on February 10th after a short battle with pancreatic cancer. He is survived by his loving wife, Geni, two children, Alex Edwards and his wife, Nicole Stochla, Niki Edwards and her fiancé Shaun O'Brien; stepchild and her husband, Kristi and John Sifen; two grandchildren, Halie and Jaida. Jay was a lifelong student and teacher. A scientist by trade, he was employed by IBM for the entirety of his career. As part of his time there, Jay traveled around the country and converted IBM's film-based microscope imaging system into a modern digital platform of his own design. In the late 1990s, he had the opportunity to create the Visiting Wizards program where he visited local elementary schools and put on science-based educational presentations. He also taught classes at various SUNY campuses for several years, as well as managed and conducted programs at Kopernik observatory. Jay worked on a number of meaningful projects during his career, including advances in pacemaker technology, the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite, or TESS, and several projects in collaboration with the United States Department of Defense. Jay most recently delighted in sharing the tremendous milestone of TESS's 5,000th planet discovery. While he had many interests in the field of science, his favorite was astronomy. He designed and built several telescopes at his home observatory and regularly attended the Stellafane Telescope Convention (the longest running astronomical convention in the United States) since the 1980s. In addition to stargazing, he also particularly enjoyed capturing the universe with his passion for astrophotography. His images have been featured by NASA, Sky & Telescope, and SpaceWeather, among others. If interested, his work can be found on Flickr@homcavobservatory. Jay greatest joys in life were his family, science, and the stars. His legacy will best be remembered by the advances he helped make in technology and in the deep love he had for his family and friends. In honoring Jay's wishes services will be held privately. Condolences may be made to Jay's family at www.emfaheyfuneralhome.com.