Jay Scott Jennings' Obituary
Jay Scott Jennings died September 23, 2022, at Washington Regional Medical Center in Fayetteville. He was 63 years old.
Born January 16, 1959 to William and Shelbylynn Jennings in Renton, Washington, Scott spent his childhood moving across the country, from Washington State to New Orleans to Wichita, before finally settling in New Orleans again. He was diagnosed as a type I diabetic at eight years old, which impacted his health throughout his life, but didn’t stop him from pursuing his interests and passions.
Scott was a 1977 graduate of East Jefferson High School in Metairie, Louisiana, where he played on both the soccer and chess teams. He earned his bachelors degree in math education from Louisiana Tech University in 1981 and his masters degree in administration and supervision from the University of New Orleans in 1985.
Scott married his wife, Antonia (Toni), on May 30, 1981. They were married 41 years and had two sons: Christopher, born in 1987, and Michael, born in 1988.
Scott and Toni lived in, of all places, Jennings, Louisiana, and Metairie, Louisiana, before moving to Destrehan, Louisiana, in 1991 to raise their sons.
Scott worked as a math teacher and tutor in New Orleans-area public schools, most significantly Riverdale High School throughout the 1990s, before retiring in 2002.
Possessed of a highly competitive spirit, Scott was a huge sports fan, especially of the New Orleans Saints, and served as a coach for his son Michael’s youth basketball teams. Scott also served as a deacon at First Christian Church of Greater New Orleans for many years. He enjoyed card, board, computer, and video games, and he was passionate about American war history and science fiction, especially Star Trek, dedicating an entire bookcase to books and memorabilia from the franchise.
Scott and Toni relocated to Gulf Shores, Alabama, in 2012. Upon Toni’s retirement, this April they moved to Fayetteville, where their son Michael has lived for the last 15 years.
Michael married his wife Amy in 2020, and they are expecting the birth of Henry William Jennings, their first child and Scott and Toni’s first grandchild, on October 2, 2022.
In addition to his wife, sons, daughter-in-law, and grandson, Scott is survived by his father William Jennings; sister Kelly Jennings (and her husband Mark Burgh); brother Benjamin (and his wife Marlis) Jennings; and many cousins, in-laws, nieces, and nephews. Scott’s mother, Shelbylynn, and brother, William Michael, predeceased him.
A memorial service will be held Tuesday September 27, 2022, at 11 a.m. at First Christian Church of Fayetteville, 220 N College Avenue in Fayetteville. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation at https://www.jdrf.org/.
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