July 21, 1943 — May 28, 2015

Jay Clair Mayberry entered his journey on earth Wednesday, July 21st 1943 at 8:05 p.m. at the Pittsburgh Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to James and Josephine Mayberry. He lost his long battle with cancer on May 28, 2015, passing peacefully beside his best friend and wife, Toni and daughter, Amy. Deemed “one of the smartest people you will ever know” by colleagues and family, Jay graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical, Electronic, and Power Engineering with minors in Control Theory and Mathematics from Kansas State University. In 1966, Jay began his engineering career at Inland Steel. During his tenure in East Chicago, Jay held various positions including Hot Strip Mill General Electrical Foreman, Hot Strip Mill Operating General Foreman and Process Automation Manager. He also served as Manager of Operations for the Continuous Cold Mill at I/N Tek in New Carlisle, Indiana. From 1998 until his illness, Jay served internationally as a senior staff engineer at IPACT located in Valparaiso, Indiana. His duties at IPACT included electrical/controls project lead, computer process modeling, level 1 PLC and high-speed VMIC system design, implementation and commissioning.

While Jay was very successful in his career, his true passion was for his family and friends. He loved spending time with his 10 grandchildren, reading to them and playing with trains. Jay also enjoyed photography and the theatre. He was involved with numerous theatre productions throughout the area. His attention to detail was seen in over 125 productions. He also loved spending time taking walks with his wife and dogs or curling up on the couch with his cat.

Jay is survived by his wife, Toni Mayberry; his daughters, Jenny Mayberry (Roy Valdez) of Hammond, Indiana; Julie Campbell (Jeffrey) of Crown Point, Indiana; Kristine Ostrom (Joshua) of Mishawaka, Indiana; Kayla Beauchamp (Robert) of Niles; and Amy Benson (Michael) of Kalamazoo, Michigan; his sons, Nicholas Lyle (Kelly O’Gara) of Englewood, Colorado; and Scott Lyle of Dowagiac, MI; his sisters, Barbara Gasper (Richard) of Baltimore, Maryland; Janice Mayberry of St. Charles, Missouri; his brother, Charles Mayberry (Dani) of Harvard, Illinois; and his grandchildren, Blake, Liah, Alex, Hannah, Sarah, Ari, Payton, Rylee, Henrik and Benaiah.

Preceding him in death are his parents, James and Josephine Mayberry; his brother, David (Ann surviving); and granddaughter Maddie.

There will be a private service for family and a celebration of life in the future. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Harper Cancer Research Institute, 1234 N. Notre Dame Ave. Notre Dame, IN 46617 attention: Andrew Bullock.

Kaniewski Funeral Home, South Bend, Indiana is handling arrangements. To send online condolences, please visit www.kaniewski.com.