Jay Ward Giesa

On May 18, 2018 our Dad, Uncle, Granddaddy, Grandy, Great-Granddaddy, husband and friend passed away peacefully at Timber Ridge in Issaquah. He was 89. Jay is survived by his kids Rick Giesa (Melissa) and their children Ross and Jory Giesa, Karen Giesa-Sherwood, Kristen Sherwood Kiene (Richard) and great grandsons Kellen and Noah Kiene. Jay was preceded in death by his grandson Brian Sherwood (2002), wife Peggy (Margaret) Giesa (2004) and wife Nancy Grim-Giesa (2017). Jay and his first wife and partner of 50+ years Peggy, raised their kids Rick and Karen in the Sherwood Forest neighborhood of Bellevue. It was home for 20+ years. Jay and Peggy enjoyed recalling stories of adults climbing trees in the middle of the night, late night bridge clubs, barbecues (Jay loved to barbecue – and he was really good at it) turning Christmas trees upside down, their pilot friend at Pan AM flying a 727 at 500 feet over the beer party they were having, and late summer nights around the firepit. Jay and Peggy began lifelong friendships in Sherwood Forest that continued to his last days. During those years, Jay was working at KFKF in the Bellevue Square. One day, he convinced the station to let him drive home KFKF’s BMW three wheel Isetta. He got it home, loaded it with as many kids as it would hold, and drove it right into the neighbor’s back yard (dear friends Ann and Bob Hawkins). He was a prankster; those were memorable years. Jay loved television and radio and began his career at the Armed Forces Radio Services in Long Beach, California. After his US Navy service, he took a position at KHQ in Spokane. Soon after, KJR in Seattle recruited Jay, and he was their morning DJ for a couple of years. He even had groupies. But he didn’t like the rock and roll music played at KJR; Frank Sinatra was more his style. Jay moved on to the Kemper Freeman Sr. radio station in Bellevue Square, KFKF, again as a morning DJ and News Director. He would get up at 3am for his shift and would “talk” to son and daughter Karen and Rick while they were getting ready for school while he was on the air. “Hey Karen and Rick, have a great day at school! See you tonight!” A short time later, KOMO Radio in Seattle offered Jay the morning DJ spot. He and Peggy became fast friends with his two morning show buddies Larry Nelson and Ted Garlatz. Jay became the voice of KOMO in the 60’s with his station promo “How big is KOMO country? From Vancouver to Vancouver – if you can hear us, you’re in it.” Jay held many positions at KOMO including Program Director, Program Manager, Assistant Station Manager, Station Manager, and Corporate VP of the parent company (Fisher Blend) until he retired from KOMO. Jay then got started doing all the things he loved to do – full time. And even through his retirement years and to his final day last week, he remained close friends with many KOMO co-workers, including his assistant at KOMO and dear friend Sherri Johnston and her husband Tom. Throughout his years, Jay loved salmon fishing. He taught the family to fish, Peggy, his kids and granddaughter Kristen (Sherwood) Kiene, Brian Sherwood and later on his Dad (Gus) and daughter-in-law Melissa. He took the family on many fishing trips on the Washington coast, and to British Columbia, to places you could only get to by flying in on a float plane. The family fished in beautiful and remote places surrounded by killer whales, eagles and seals. And of course, after teaching us to catch fish, he was never one to lift a finger when any of us had a fish on, unless of course one of us was bringing up something that seemed to weigh more than we did. He once caught a very large halibut and claimed “it was like bringing up a barn door.” It came from a depth of about 400 feet and took him an hour or more to land. But his prized fish was a 35 lb Chinook at Knight Inlet on the British Columbia coast. The family has wonderful memories of getting up in the dark to catch the early bite and experiencing “family time.” These memories are still etched in our minds. Evenings after fishing were predictable; they were filled with fun, laughter, silly fish stories and Jay - a scotch and soda in one hand and a cigar in the other. Jay was also a golf nut. He loved the game, played regularly with his buddies, and with Peggy. In the late 70’s, they moved to Sahalee Golf and Country Club in Sammamish, WA, where they shared many great experiences at Sahalee with their kids and his grandkids. Christmas, Easter, golf tournaments. In Brian and Kristen’s eyes, their Nana and Granddaddy were fun, adventurous, and always full of laughter. He and Peggy (Nana) made Christmas at the Sahalee house magical. The presents, decorating the cookies, the brunch, the fire in the fireplace, the fondue. In their later years, when the Sherwood family would visit and the grandkids got bored, Jay would throw a handful of pennies, nickels and quarters into the forest greenbelt and Kristen and Brian would spend hours looking for them. To this day, his granddaughter Kristen still carries those magical memories. The 90’s brought three more people into Jay and Peggy’s life. Son Rick married the light of his life, Melissa, and two more grandkids came onto the scene, Ross Giesa and Jory Giesa. They brought so much joy into Nana and their Grandy’s lives. Jay made sure they both got golf lessons at Sahalee. Many evenings were spent at Rick and Melissa’s dinner table, staying close and keeping up with family happenings. Peggy passed away in 2004, and left a hole in the family’s lives. After the customary one year was up (he was a gentleman and chose to honor Peggy’s memory in that way), Jay noticed that a number of single women at Sahalee were beginning to take an interest in him. He was quite the gentleman, and he was very particular. And then our sweet, beloved Nancy Grim came gently onto the scene. They went to coffee, and that was the beginning of a beautiful friendship and love affair that lasted over ten years. The family often marveled that for years, they acted like two teenagers out on a first date. Jay proposed to Nancy on a cruise they later took through the Panama Canal, and when they married, Jay’s family expanded from two kids to eight. And this wasn’t even counting all the grandkids: Nancy’s six kids Linda (Jerry), Chris (Phil), Nancy Jo (Glenn), Cindy (Larry), Melissa and Jim (Lori) were pure delight, and a welcome addition to the family. In 2008, Jay and Nancy moved from Sahalee to Timber Ridge, along with several other couples from Sahalee. A few years later, their dear friends Joan and Bill Bergesen joined them. They all laughed, they played and they traveled – Italy, Greece, the UK. They took cruises up the rivers in Europe, spent time in Greece and Asia and had many wonderful years together, enjoying each other’s company. We lost Nancy last year, in 2017, and Jay missed her dearly. All through his marriage to Peggy and later to Nancy, their closest friends Bill and Joan Bergesen were there. Peggy and Joan had been best friends since the 60’s, and when Nancy came onto the scene, they became close friends as well. Joan’s late husband Bill was like a brother to Jay, and Bill felt the same way. In 2017, Jay became a man of faith, and he knew God was close to him. A few times right after Nancy passed away, daughter Karen would ask him if God had spoken to him that day. Most times he would say “yes.” When asked “what did He say?” Jay would reply by saying He told me to “hang in there…I’m with you.” He loved to be read to in his final months, and the book “Jesus Calling” was one of his favorites. Our Dad, Uncle, Granddaddy, Grandy, Great-Granddaddy, husband and friend will be sorely missed. He made an indelible mark in this world, and in each of our lives. A celebration of Jay’s Life will take place on Saturday June 30th at 3:00pm at Timber Ridge in Issaquah, WA. In lieu of flowers, the family asks you that you consider assisting the John’s Hopkins Dementia Research organization by making a donation in Jay’s name. John's Hopkins Dementia Research