Longtime East Hampton resident Jay Moorhead died on October 27 at his home after a short illness. He was 89.
Born in Sabetha, Kansas, he had achieved Eagle Scout status in his youth and was awarded a Young Artist Certificate as a pianist at the age of 14. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Business, he was first employed by Proctor and Gamble in Cincinnati.
At the beginning of World War II, he enrolled in Navy Midshipman School at Colorado University, graduating as an ensign. He was assigned to patrol vessels in Alaska and then as an aide to Fleet Admiral Nimitz in California and Hawaii. He observed the planning of the Okinawa and Iwo Jima invasions.
At war’s end, he returned to the United States and worked for several major corporations in the area of press and public relations. Finally he established an antiques business in East Hampton alongside Daniel Powers, a partnership that lasted 51 years.
He was a member of the Congregational Church of Sabetha, Kansas. According to survivors, he was extremely proud of the fact that his great-grandfather emigrated from Albany, New York, to Kansas by covered wagon.
He is survived by several nieces and nephews of the Moorhead and Ladd families.
Graveside services were held on November 2 at Cedar Lawn Cemetery in East Hampton.
on Oct 28, 2008