In Memoriam: Jay Demerath

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N.J. (Jay) Demerath III, former chair of the sociology department and Emile Durkheim Distinguished Professor, died on Feb. 5, in Leeds, Mass.  

Boron in Boston in 1936, Demerath earned a B.A., magna cum laude, from Harvard College in 1958, then an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California at Berkeley. Before coming to UMass Amherst, he was on the faculty at the University of Wisconsin – Madison for ten years.

Demerath came to UMass Amherst as professor and department chair in sociology. He chaired the sociology department from 1972-77 and 1981-86 and is credited with guiding it into the top 20 sociology programs in the country by 1982. When he retired from UMass in 2008, Jay held the title of Emile Durkheim Distinguished Professor.

In 2002, Demerath was a speaker in UMass Amherst’s Distinguished Faculty Lecture Series and received the Chancellor’s Medal for outstanding contributions to the campus.

Demerath was one of the leading sociologists of religion and culture in the world. He authored 12 books and more than 60 articles in the most prestigious journals in the field. Demerath was also a Fulbright Scholar in India and also held visiting appointments at Yale and Harvard universities and the London School of Economics.

He served as president of the Association for the Sociology of Religion and the Eastern Sociological Society and the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion.

Jay was predeceased by his wife Judy, who passed away in 2011, and to whom he was devoted during their 51-year marriage. He also leaves behind three sons and their wives; Loren and Janine, Peter and Ellen, and Ben and Mary; his brother Jeff and his sister Julie; and his eight grandchildren, Oliver, Rafaela, Olivia, Emma, Gus, Annie, Sophia, and Jacoby.

There will be a virtual Memorial for Jay via Zoom on Saturday, March 13 at 4 p.m. EST. Donations in his name may be made to the American Friends Service Committee, www.afsc.org or the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, sssreligion.org. Thoughts and memories can be shared at https://douglassfuneral.com/wp-content/plugins/funeralworks_obituary_plugin/ajax-obituary2.php?Counter=2065&mn=25.