Jay B. Myers' Obituary
Jay B. Myers, devoted Husband, Father, and Grandfather passed away on Saturday, August 12 in Collierville, TN after a month long battle with cancer at the age of 66.
Jay, a long-time Memphian, was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana on Dec 8, 1956. When he was 9 years old, Jay and his 6 siblings moved to Memphis where his dad, Jerry Myers, became the head of the Better Business Bureau of the Midsouth for many years. Jay attended Holy Rosary, Christian Brothers High School (where he achieved his Eagle Scout Award) and eventually the University of Memphis.
After college, he worked for companies like Kodak, HP and ATS before starting his own company, Interactive Solutions Inc. (ISI), in 1996. Specializing in audio visual and video conferencing technologies, ISI eventually grew to over $20 million in annual sales and was recognized by Inc. Magazine seven different times as one of the fastest growing private companies in the U.S.
Jay was a lifelong Yankees fan and even attended several Yankees Fantasy Camps. At these camps, he had the opportunity to play alongside Yankees legends like Tommy John, Homer Bush, Daryl Strawberry and Jeff Nelson (who he got a hit off of).
Playing off his love of baseball and stories of perseverance, Jay wrote 3 books about his experiences in life and business: Keep Swinging, Hitting the Curveballs and Rounding Third and Heading for Home. With these books, he had the opportunity to share how he was able to overcome an embezzlement and a partnership buyout all while running and growing a successful business. In 2018, Jay sold ISI and went on to do public speaking engagements across the country including a TEDx talk in 2021 and hosted the "Extra Innings" podcast for 3 seasons.
Jay was an avid University of Memphis athletics supporter including basketball, football and, of course, baseball with the recently renamed "Jay and Maureen Myers Hitting Room" in honor of his family's contributions. He also served as an Executive in Residence at the University of Memphis Fogelman College of Business and Economics speaking frequently to classes of undergraduate and MBA students.
Jay was inducted into the Christian Brothers High School Hall of Fame in 2011 and he was inducted into the Society of Entrepreneurs in 2018. He was the first recipient of the Kemmons Wilson Emerging Business Award. He was active in numerous community organizations in the Memphis area including the Chickasaw Council of the Boy Scouts where he received the Silver Beaver Award for adult leaders and the Better Business Bureau of the Mid-South where he was on the board for 20 years. He was a mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs through the SCORE program.
Most importantly, he never missed a campout, swim meet, school play, awards ceremony, anniversary, birthday or family trip - no matter how busy he was.
He is survived by his loving wife of 40 years Maureen Myers, son Jordan (Alexis) Myers, daughter Katie (Kevin) Quinn, beloved granddaughter Ariana Myers and his faithful dog, Walker. He is also survived by his brother Chris Myers and sister Diane Edwards and a far-reaching community of family and friends - all of which he adored. He was preceded in death by his mother Dorothy Myers, father Jerry Myers, brothers Charles Myers and John Myers and sister Dolores Wido.
Friends and family will celebrate Jay's life on Saturday, August 19th at the Catholic Church of the Incarnation in Collierville (360 Bray Station Rd.) Visitation will be in the main sanctuary at 11:00 am to 12:00 pm, followed by the service at 12:00 pm. A reception will follow in the church gym.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Jay's honor to CBHS, Church Health and Page Robbins.
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