John "Jay" Francis Cadwallader died peacefully at the Edith Rogers Nourse Memorial Veterans Hospital in Bedford, Massachusetts, on September 1, 2018, at the age of 71. His father, Ralph Lincoln Cadwallader and Mary Louise (nee Molloy) Cadwallader predeceased him.

Jay dedicated his life to love of family and hard work. He was the father of six sons, whom he loved dearly and was proud of each equally. His love for his wife Mary never wavered from the moment he "spied her across the room."

Jay spent his childhood in Watertown, MA. In 1965 he joined the Air Force, crewing B-52s out of Okinawa and Guam during the Vietnam War. After returning home, he dedicated his energy towards his studies, earning a degree in journalism at the University of Massachusetts Amherst in just three years.

Early in his career, Jay served as a lobbyist and public relations officer, but his true calling emerged when he became a salesman for one of the tech giants of its day, Data General and later a sales manager at Apollo Computer. He was an assiduous judge of character and as a manager, he inspired fierce loyalty among his sales teams.

Jay's success in selling enterprise technology led him and his family around the world, living for several years in San Francisco, London and Hong Kong, but always returning back to their home in Princeton, Massachusetts.

Jay had an unmatched eye for beauty and design, a talent he put to work in the restoration of several antique homes. His crowning achievement was the restoration of his home, Boylston Villa - a Bullfinch-style 1820 home in Princeton, Massachusetts- that had been neglected for decades. Over the course of twenty years, Jay poured himself into rehabilitating the historic manse, preserving a piece of New England history and ensuring that it would survive for generations to come.

He was happiest when he was with his family at the helm of a sailboat, cruising around Buzzards Bay and San Francisco Bay, gunkholing along the coast of Maine, and island hopping in Greece and the British Virgin Islands.

Jay is survived by his wife of 31 years, Mary Louise Lynch Cadwallader of Princeton, MA, his six sons, John Jr., of Northborough; Peter and his wife, Jennifer, of West Boylston; Kevin, of Boston; Christopher, of Holden; Matthew, of Boston; and Robert, of San Francisco, CA, his grandchildren, Olivia and John, of West Boylston, and his brothers Ralph, of Las Vegas, NV, Christopher, of West Concord, and Philip, of Littleton.

A gathering is scheduled to celebrate his life on Wednesday, September 12, from 5:00-9:00 pm, at the Maple Room at Wachusett Mountain Ski Area, 499 Mountain Rd., Princeton. All are welcome to attend. In lieu of flowers, Jay asked that you donate to the charity of your choice.

Jay's family wishes to thank the team at the VA Hospice Center for their steadfast dedication and warmth while providing end of life
comfort to Jay and other veterans.