In Memoriam: Jay Kovtun ’51 OD ’52

Jay H. Kovtun ’51, OD ’52 died Dec. 5, 2021, at age 90. As a child growing up in Seattle, Wash., he enjoyed Hebrew school and reflected on his Bar Mitzvah as one of the most pivotal moments in his young life. He studied optometry at Pacific University, where he met his future wife, Lael Peters. After earning his degree, he trained at a military base camp in Rhode Island and served in a captain in the U.S. Navy. He and Lael married in Pearl Harbor, where he was stationed, in 1954. After his discharge, the couple moved to Seattle, where they both worked as optometrists. They later moved to California and spent the next 60 years attending social events, traveling, and sharing their mutual passion of the arts, especially with the San Diego Symphony and San Diego Opera. Kovtun was preceded in death by his wife, Lael Knutson ’52, OD ’53. He is survived by his son, Gordon; sister, Edie; brother, Merle; and three grandchildren.