Peter A. Jay, Maryland farmer, writer, and preservationist, died January 23, in Harford County. He was 83.

Mr. Jay was born in New York City, to Peter Jay and Gertrude (Trudy) McGinley. He was the devoted husband of 50 years to Irna Jay; loving father of William Jay (Janney), of Alexandria, Va., and Sarah Jay (Jeanne Sisk), of Churchville; and Grandpa Pete to three grandchildren, Morgan, Augusta, and Peter.

After his father's discharge from the Army, his family moved to Maryland in 1946 and purchased Windmill Hill Farm near Churchville. A lifelong horseman, he spent much of his childhood riding and foxhunting with his father. Peter received a bachelor's degree in English from Harvard College, and then joined one of the first groups of Peace Corps volunteers, spending two years in Peru. A chance encounter on his return led him to a job as a reporter at the Aegis in Bel Air. His next job was at the Washington Post, first covering Maryland news and politics and then as a foreign correspondent in Vietnam. In 1973, he returned to his roots in Harford County, moving back to his family farm. He married his Post colleague, Irna Moore, and the two of them purchased the Record, the weekly newspaper in Havre de Grace. Together they ran the paper for the better part of two decades. When not writing, he helped his father run the farm and continued to ride. He even contested several steeplechases and brought home a few trophies and one broken collarbone, despite being too tall, at 6'2", to be a proper jockey. While working at the Record, he began a regular column for the Sun. It would run for more than twenty years, off and on, as often as three times a week. The subjects of his 1,840 columns ranged from statehouse politics in Maryland to farming in Harford County. He was always proud that his writing led the City Paper to name him one of the five most boring people in Baltimore.

The column continued even after Peter and Irna sold their publishing company to the Sun in 1989. Peter took over farming full-time as his father moved toward retirement. He ran the farm for more than 30 years, and his daughter runs it today. He also devoted much of his time to conservation: he served on the board of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, and in 1991, he and several friends co-founded the Harford Land Trust to preserve as many acres as possible of the county's naturally beautiful spaces. He served as Vice President and, later, President, and in 2023 the organization gave him its Lifetime Conservation Award.

Though his preservation efforts were on land, many of his happiest hours were afloat. One of his proudest achievements was his Coast Guard master's license. He always had at least one more boat than he needed. A skilled sailor, kayaker, and canoeist, he was happiest at the wheel of a powerboat. He briefly ran a charter business from Havre de Grace using a converted Chesapeake Bay workboat, the Sea Horse. Peter also formerly coached Little League Baseball and was a leader in Scouting.

He published a history of Havre de Grace in 1986. His second book, Timepieces, a collection of his Sun columns, was published in 2022.

A Memorial service will be held Saturday, March 2, at 11 AM, at Churchville Presbyterian Church, 2844 Churchville Rd., Churchville, MD. 21028. Services will be Livestreamed via Facebook @ Zellman Funeral Home, P.A., or will be available on Mr. Jay's obituary page. Click on photos and videos, then click view webcast. The link will appear about ten minutes prior the service.

Contributions in his memory may be made to the Harford Land Trust, 22 West Pennsylvania Avenue, Bel Air, MD 21014, or www.harfordlandtrust.org/give/.

Online condolences may be made to www.zellmanfuneralhome.com.