Proud father, loyal friend, savvy businessman

Jay Newton Pocock, proud father and ambitious businessman, died Wednesday, Dec. 8 after an unexpected illness and brief hospitalization near his home in Claremont. He leaves a big-hearted, big-spirited imprint on the souls of all those he knew and loved.

Jay was born in Walnut Creek, California, on Nov. 1, 1963 and moved to Claremont with his family when he was a freshman in high school. He attended Claremont High School, where he was an ardent thespian, an activity his children also later enjoyed at CHS. He graduated from CHS in 1982 and began working alongside his father to grow the family trailer manufacturing business, Superior Trailer Works. He was a savvy businessman who helped expand and modernize the company, both with his father and after taking over as full owner. Superior’s superlight transfer design was award-winning. In later years, thinking of other ventures to share and enjoy with his children, he broadened his business interests to include real estate investments, including multiple rental properties in Montana and the Snowcrest Lodge and Cabins in Mount Baldy, California, and local business investments, including Citrus Grove Distillers in Claremont and Pacific Wine Merchants in Upland.

But more important to him than any of his business accomplishments was his family. He married his wife, Kimberly, on Jan. 16, 1999, and they had four beautiful children: Emily, Courtney, Amy and Jerred. His children were the pride and joy of his far-too-short life. He, Kimberly, and the children moved to Claremont when Amy was a baby. They purchased and restored a stately Spanish-style home in Claremont’s historic Village and immersed themselves in the community. As a family, they loved all that Claremont had to offer: concerts in the park, dining out, and their school and soccer communities.

His family and friends have many precious memories of time spent together around a table in the Pocock back yard, pushing children on the swings he had hoisted over sturdy oak tree branches and playing with a dunking tank he had acquired so he could revel in the joy it brought to his children’s and their friends’ faces. When not enjoying family life in Claremont, the Pococks loved to take road trips.

He ran for city council at one point, and enjoyed engaging in robust conversations and debates on a range of topics he was passionate about. Regardless of which side of an issue the person he was talking to represented, he enjoyed every discussion and maintained an affinity for people that differing politics could not diminish. He was a loyal friend, whose appreciation and respect for the relationships he’d formed over time never faded.

Fatherhood was his special talent. He nurtured a loving connection with his children, making a point to spend one-on-one time with each of them and to be present to cheer for them and support them in all of their endeavors, whether on the soccer field, the stage, or elsewhere. He was effusively proud of his kids. You could see that pride welling up in every word he spoke or wrote about them and in his eyes, as he watched them grow and begin to find their independence.

He was a proud University of Oregon Duck dad who loved rooting for the football team, which his father had once played on, and supporting his oldest daughter, Emily, in her studies there.

He will be deeply missed and mourned by Kimberly, Emily, Courtney, Amy and Jerred and all those who knew him.

There will be a private memorial for his family, but many celebrations of life ceremonies, open to the public, will be scheduled soon.