Roll Call Tribute

Jerry (Jay) R. Reavis, Jr.
December 21, 1970 - November 28, 2021

Jerry (Jay) R. Reavis, Jr passed away on Sunday, November 28, 2021 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Jay is survived by his wife of 23 years Amy Spalding; sons, John and Benjamin; parents, Jerry and Kerry Reavis; sisters, Kelly Reavis Lyssy and Suzanne Reavis Wing along with treasured nieces and nephews.

Above all things, Jay was a devoted father, husband, son, brother and friend. He lived each day with unbelievable grace and quiet strength. His nature was calm and steady and he served as a grounding influence, a depended upon constant and source of guidance and advice for those who knew him. He always knew his mind and exactly who he was - and he lived a life of great integrity accordingly.

Being a father was his life’s greatest joy. His love and commitment to John and Benjamin was boundless. His boys were a source of inspiration and pride to him and he provided for them an example of a life well lived.

Jay loved Amy deeply. Jay and Amy together were an infectious source of hilarity and joy and it was not possible to be around them without laughter. Jay made Amy his partner in life. They supported each other, they delighted in each other and they cared for each other. Each were a constant source of joy and encouragement for the other. Through incredibly difficult times the one certainty was the strength that Jay received from Amy and vice versa.

Jay was not a collector of things but without knowing it, he was a collector of people. He had deep and enduring friendships with people whom he went to grade school and high school. His group of Sigma Chi brothers remained his closest friends and by extension their beautiful families became part of his.

His even and steady nature was not to be mistaken for a lack of deep love and endless capacity to think of others. He gave the best gifts. He was incredibly thoughtful and cared about each person in his life. He paid attention to what was important to people, what made them special and figured out what would bring them joy.

Jay graduated from Texas A&M University with a BA in Economics and remained a die-hard Aggie through and through. He received his MBA from the University of Houston. Since moving from Houston to Nashville in 1999, Jay spent his entire professional career with Delta Dental of TN in a variety of leadership roles and currently served as Vice President of Sales.

For decades Jay was a supporter of the United Way of Middle TN both with financial contributions as well as spending his time visiting local organizations and reviewing funding requests. He was an ardent supporter of Be The Match to promote life-saving stem cell and bone marrow donations. He tirelessly raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society especially through their “Light the Night” annual event.

Continuing the spirit of generosity with which he lived his life, Jay was an organ and tissue donor. A celebration of his life is being planned for his birthday on December 21st with a time and location to be determined.

Memorial contributions may be made to BeTheMatch.com or to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.