Jay H. Lehr ’57
Jay died Jan. 10, 2023, of cardiac arrest. He was 86.
He came to Princeton from the Hotchkiss School. At Princeton, he majored in geology and joined Dial Lodge. His senior-year roommates were Squier Ball, Hugh Barnett, Dave Loeffler, Don Mayer, John Nevin, Miles Seifert, and John Storm.
After Navy service he earned a doctorate in hydrology at the University of Arizona, and then taught there and at Ohio State. Later Jay was employed at the National Ground Water Association, Environmental Education Enterprises, the Heartland Institute, and the International Climate Science Coalition.
Jay had a photographic memory that allowed him to address a variety of unrelated subjects. He wrote Fit, Firm and 50 and with Janet, his wife, published a five-volume encyclopedia on water and at least 25 other books on science.
At Reunions, Jay was a P-rade favorite. He led the class, walking on his hands for 20 years, and then completing the route on his unicycle for 20 years. He loved to skydive, completing 1,481 jumps. Jay also competed in 10 Ironman World Championships, which involve a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a marathon of 26.2 miles, a total of 140.6 miles.
Jay and Janet had 31 wonderful years together. He is also survived by four children/stepchildren and eight grandchildren. Truly, Jay was one of a kind.
Paw in print
October 2025
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott ’92; President Eisgruber ’83 defends higher ed; Julia Ioffe ’05 explains Russia.
1 Response
Comments
Tracy Lehr de Martino k’57
2 Years AgoLegacy Admission Not a Sure Thing
There’s a lot of talk about legacy admissions and in defense of Princeton both my Oxnard High School valedictorian daughters Marie Claire and Josilynn de Martino applied and were denied admission despite my father Jay Lehr’s Class of ’57 legacy and P-rade notoriety for walking on his hands and unicycling. My dad did not have money to leave us or Princeton but his story about seeing Einstein on the path to the library will live on in our family forever.