Jay O. Blain, 60, of Greenbank, passed on to bigger adventures on Nov. 26, 2006 after a dignified and courageous battle with cancer.

Jay was born on June 15, 1946 in Everett. His parents, Twila Hinshaw Blain and Robert I. Blain, moved the family to Oak Harbor in 1952. Jay graduated from Oak Harbor High School in 1964 where he was quite a basketball player and he also enjoyed football and track and field. He graduated from the University of Washington in 1968 with a degree in Business Administration. While at U.W., Jay was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity and made many lifelong friendships there. He served in the U. S. Army from 1969 to 1971.

Jay opened JJ’s Tavern in Freeland in 1972, which he sold after a year and a half, when he returned to his father’s Pay-Less Foods business. Jay bought his father’s business and, eventually, remodeled and expanded Pay-Less Foods, built a new ACE Hardware and developed Freeland Plaza, the largest shopping center on South Whidbey.

Jay married his wife, Kim, in 1995 at the Governor’s Mansion in Charleston, S.C.

People will remember Jay as a marvelous golfer, a racehorse owner, an avid boater, a world traveler, a roller coaster enthusiast and a savvy businessman. He was a member of Useless Bay Golf & Country Club, Seattle Yacht Club and Thunderbird Country Club. Jay’s sense of humor was second to none and he kept it up throughout his illness. Jay truly enjoyed University of Washington Husky football and the UW Marching Band was a special interest of his.

Jay is survived by his wife, Kim at the family home, Greenbank; his mother Twila of Lacey; his sisters Perry Settles of Puyallup and Pam Spears of Lacey and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. His father Bob preceded him in death in 2001.

Special thanks go to the magic staff of Enso House (hospice), Patricia Cable and the other highly skilled nurses at Whidbey Home Health and Suzen Maxwell, caregiver.

Memorials may kindly be made to either the UW-Athletics Husky Marching Band, Box 354070, Seattle, WA 98195 or to Friends of Friends Medical Support Fund, PO Box 812, Langley, WA 98260, which is a Whidbey Island nonprofit dedicated to helping islanders with medical bills and other assistance, or Enso House, 6339 Wahl Road, Freeland, WA 98249.

A graveside service at Sunnyside Cemetery, Coupeville, will be held on Saturday, Dec. 9 at 1 p.m. followed by a reception at Trinity Lutheran Church in Freeland.

Until we meet again, Jay.