Obituary: Jay Dudley (‘Dud’) Waldner

Jay Dudley (“Dud”) Waldner, 90, passed away August 7, 2013 at Carolina Meadows, Chapel Hill, North Carolina.
The family owned a home on Shelter Island for over 30 years, where Dud served as an officer of the Shelter Island Yacht Club and was a member of Gardiner’s Bay Country Club. He was the father of Peter Waldner, the Reporter’s award-winning cartoonist.

Born on December 10, 1922, to Carl A. and Lois McConnell Waldner, Dud grew up in Ashland, Pennsylvania, where he was president of his high school class all four years. He attended Bucknell University, majoring in psychology and economics, but interrupted his studies to join the Navy to serve in World War II. He left school his senior year for officer’s training at Northwestern University and received his commission on May 10, 1944. Then, on May 13, Dud married Jean Newsom, a coed he had met her freshman year, and on May 15 reported for duty. He served on a mine sweeper out of Newport, Rhode Island for a short time and was then sent to Saipan, where he served until the end of the war.

After the war, Dud left active duty but remained in the Naval Reserve until 1960. He returned to Bucknell and graduated in June 1946, as president of Sigma Chi fraternity as well as a member of Omicron Delta Kappa honorary society. After graduation he served as president of the Class of 1946 for many years and also served as president of both the Lehigh Valley and Northern New Jersey Bucknell Alumni Clubs.

In 1946 Dud and Jean moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he went into a training program and then to work as a commercial manager with Pennsylvania Power and Light. Dud and his growing family moved to Montclair, New Jersey in 1953 so he could become assistant to the president of Grand Union Company and then director of public relations.

In 1956 the family moved to Upper Montclair, New Jersey and Dud went to work for Edison Electric Institute in New York City. He served on many levels, retiring in 1979 as vice-president of the Electric Energy Association. During this time he served on the Board of Governors of the Culinary Institute of America and later was named a Lifetime Fellow. In 1979 he became vice-president and then CEO of Trade Group Associates and also served as president of the New York Society of Association Executives, vice-president of the Institute of Association Management Companies, and on the International Committee of the American Society of Association Executives. The family had moved to Glen Ridge, New Jersey in 1965, where Dud served on the Planning Board and as a borough councilman for several years before moving into Manhattan, where he was on the Board of Governors of the Squadron A Association and a member of the Amateur Comedy Club.

The Waldners retired to Chapel Hill in 1990. There Dud was elected president of the Chapel Hill Tar Heel Golden K Kiwanis Club and served as a board member of both Meals on Wheels and the Chapel Hill Preservation Society. In 1997 Jean and Dud moved to Carolina Meadows where Dud served on many committees and became president of the Residents Association.

Dud is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Jean Newsom Waldner. He was also deeply loved by his children: Jay and wife, Roxanne, of Canaan, New Hampshire; Deborah Guttentag and husband, Robert, of Greensboro, North Carolina; Lynn, deceased; Peter and wife, Sandra, of Shelter Island; and Gregor, who has Down syndrome and lives in a group home in New Jersey. Dud was adored by his grandchildren: Kimberly W. Greene and husband, Jeff; Lisa G. Lederer and husband, Joshua; Daniel Guttentag and wife, Joslyne; Matthew Guttentag; Michael Waldner and wife, Jennifer; Lindsay Waldner; and also by his two great-grandchildren, twins Tor and Rhys Greene.

Dud was a true “people” person and a natural leader known for his sense of humor, wit, warmth and kindness. His life will be celebrated at a memorial reception on Saturday, August 17, between 2 and 3:30 p.m. in the Carolina Meadows auditorium. He was a long-term participant in the Duke Bryan Alzheimer’s Research program, and, in a final act of service and generosity, his remains were bequeathed to the center and will later be interred in the Garden of Memory at the Congregational Church in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Carolina Meadows Remembrance and Gift Fund, 100 Carolina Meadows, Chapel Hill, NC 27517-8505, or to the charity of your choice.