Jay Weiss

Jay Kenneth Weiss, 85, of Caldwell died Nov. 12, 2012. He grew up in South Orange.

Dr. Weiss entered into the practice of orthodontics in partnership with his father in Newark before establishing his own practice, which he maintained for more than 40 years in Caldwell.

He taught at both Columbia University’s School of Dental and Oral Surgery and Montclair High School and was a member of the American and the French Orthodontic societies,

He graduated from Columbia High School, Maplewood, in 1944. He enrolled at Harvard College but was first sent by the U.S. Navy to train at the University of Missouri until the end of World War II. He graduated in 1948 from Harvard, where he was an editor of The Harvard Crimson. He received his DMD from Tufts University in 1952. He also completed master’s degrees at Montclair State University in French and psychology.

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During the Korean War, he was posted as a captain practicing dentistry at the U.S. Air Force Strategic Air Command base in Marrakesh, Morocco.

He was a passionate supporter of equal rights and marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. across the bridge in Selma, Ala., at the height of the civil rights movement. He and his wife hosted foreign exchange students from Nigeria, Russia, and the United Kingdom while their children were growing up.

He was an active member of the Montclair YMCA and played on its competitive squash team for many years.

In retirement, he served for many years as the editor of The Bulletin of the Essex County Dental Society and the newsletter of the Jewish Historical Society of MetroWest, but spent most of his time as a professional translator, specializing in the translation of French dental publications into English.

Predeceased by his son William in 1991, he is survived by his wife of 60 years, Joan (Burke Tutin); two sons, Samuel and Benjamin; his daughter, Wendy; a sister, Caryl; and six grandchildren.

Services were held Nov. 16 with arrangements by Bernheim-Apter-Kreitzman Suburban Funeral Chapel, Livingston. Memorial contributions may be made to Gay Men’s Health Crisis (www.gmhc.org).