Jay N. Trate

DANVILLE -- Jay N. Trate, 93, passed peacefully into the arms of Jesus on Sunday, September 15, 2024, at home in Danville, Pa.

Jay was born on Nov 3, 1930, in Milton, Pa., a son of the late Isaac S. and Sarah Helen (Wolfe) Trate. He was a 1948 graduate of Milton High School and a member of Christ Evangelical Lutheran Church, Milton. Jay proudly served in the Army Reserves as a corporal from 1950 to 1952 in Germany during the Korean War.

On Nov. 15, 1952, he married Joan B. Johnson, the love of his life, who preceded him in death on November 14, 2023. Jay and Joan lived and raised their family on Poplar Ave in Milton, before retiring and moving to Mountain Pink Road, Bloomsburg, in 1989, where they lived next door to their daughter DeAnne and son-in-law, Jerry Casteel. In their final years, Jay and Joan resided with their daughter and son-in-law, Mary Jayne and Leroy (Mo) Reibsome, Jr., near their son Mikel and his wife Wanda (Reibsome) Trate, all of Danville.

Jay was employed by Warshaw & Sons and later by Trate’s Texaco, both in Milton, Pa. He was also self-employed as a carpenter, wallpaper-hanger and painter. He was a hard worker and always there to lend a helping hand to others. Throughout his life, Jay helped on many projects spanning from Milton’s Bicentennial to Bloomsburg High School musicals. Whether making birdhouses and crafts with the grandkids or building beautiful gifts for family and friends, Jay could always be found “tinkering in the barn.” He enjoyed cranking homemade ice cream, making and bottling wine, tending to and canning the harvest from the garden, and making homemade bread which he did into his 90’s.

Jay was a kind, honest, humble and reflective man who loved his wife and family dearly. He also loved walking in the woods, a Sunday afternoon tractor ride with the grandkids, watching deer grazing in the yard, and feeling the sun on his face. 

Along with his wife, Jay was preceded in death by his twin brother Ray and brothers Donald, Hugh, and Isaac, and three sisters, Verna, Jean, and Charlotte.

Besides his children and their spouses, Jay is also survived by one brother Franklin D. (Sandy) Trate of New Columbia and one sister Sandra L. (Elwood) Brown of New Columbia; 8 grandchildren Bradley (Heidy) Trate, Alicia (Janice) Jones, Jocelyn (Ben) Jamison, Sarah (Abdellah) Smichi, Lindsay (Chad) Barry, Christopher (Thelma) Reibsome, Mary (Chris) Holdren, Rich (Kim) Rudy; 13 great grandchildren Alex, Aliyah, Declan, Archer, Logan, Kole, Hailey, Ethan, Zachery, Wyatt, Xavier, Ysabella, Gideon; and two great-great grandchildren, Oaklin and Weston; and many nieces and nephews.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to Geisinger Hospice, 74 School House Road, Suite 104, Danville, PA 17821, or by honoring Jay and Joan’s memory with acts of kindness.

A gathering of friends and family will take place from 10:00 – 11:00 A.M. on Saturday, September 28, 2024 at Dale Ranck Cremation & Funeral Care, 125 N. Front Street, Milton followed by Celebration of Life service for both Jay and Joan at 11:00 with the Reverend Mindy Bartholomew officiating. Burial will follow in Harmony Cemetery, Milton.