Dr. Jehangir 'Jay' S. Vazifdar, 93

MEREDITH — Jehangir "Jay" Sohrab Vazifdar, of Meredith, passed away surrounded by family on Oct. 
29, 2016. He was 93.

"Dr. Jay" as he was known to so many, was born March 20, 1923, in 
Poona, India, the only child of Dr. Sohrab Shapur Vazifdar and Mary (Wadia).

Jay was sent to England at age 10 to attend the Berkhamsted School for Boys. He was the first 
Indian student enrolled there. As a day student, Jay lived with the Reeve family for several 
years, until his parents moved to England before war broke out.

Each summer, Jay would travel 
by train from Berkhamsted to Marseilles, where he boarded a steamship from the P&O line and 
journeyed across the Mediterranean, down the Suez Canal, through the Gulf of Aden, and 
across the Arabian Sea to Bombay. He did this alone. Jay adored his years at Berkhamsted 
and it was there that cricket became his passion. In later years, he was very proud to be 
inducted into the Maryleborne Cricket Club. He even played at Lord's.

After his graduation in 1941, Jay completed his pre-medical training at Queens College at 
Cambridge University in the middle of World War II. He served in the Home Guard during the war and 
made several trips to London during The Blitz. He described the whistling sounds of the bombs, 
and then the silence right before they detonated. He resumed his medical training at St. 
Bartholomew's Hospital Medical College in London from 1945-1948. After completion of his 
studies, Jay continued his education with fellowships and residencies over several years.

Dr. Jay began his medical practice in 1953 in Chesham, and in 1954 his father joined him as his 
medical partner. They were in practice together until Jay became disenchanted with the 
National Health Service and emigrated to the U.S. in 1963.

After practicing briefly in Lowell, Massachusetts, 
Dr. Jay found Meredith on a weekend drive to the country and fell in love with the town. He went 
into practice with Dr. Tom Nadeau, with whom he worked until 1975. In 1971 he had the great 
fortune of bringing Bob Jones, PA, into the practice for the final stage of Bob's clinical training. 
Bob stayed on with Dr. Jay and together they created a well-loved practice that moved to Main 
Street for 15 years.

Throughout his career, Dr. Jay practiced the art of medical hypnosis, which was taught to him 
over many years by his father. Dr. Jay believed very strongly in the correlation of mind and body 
and enjoyed using his skills to help people. He regularly traveled to Boston to teach medical students at several hospitals there, and was an active member and ultimately president of the 
New England Society for Clinical Hypnosis. He continued to utilize his hypnosis skills up until a 
few weeks before he died.

Throughout his career, Dr. Jay was on the staff at Lakes Region General Hospital. He began the 
Emergency Department at LRGH with a group of colleagues in the late 1970s, providing the 
community with its first 24-hour Emergency Care. In 1989, Dr. Jay sold his practice, worked for 
a walk-in clinic for a few years, and then ended his career doing the family practice that he loved 
back in Meredith. He retired at age 81, often working with his beloved dog Lucky under his desk. 
Dr. Jay loved medicine, and considered it such an honor to help people, and he always told his 
family, "My patients come first."

Dr. Jay married the love of his life, Elizabeth Sargent, in 1969. He always said they were 
destined to be together. Their family included Betsy's two young daughters, which Jay happily 
claimed as his own, and their son Andrew, born in 1971. Jay's family also included many 
beloved dogs through the years, which he sometimes preferred to people.

Family was the 
greatest joy of Jay's life, and he loved retirement with time for family gatherings, grandchildren 
stopping by, and Skyping with cousins in far-away countries. He loved his land, cricket, tennis, 
cars and all kinds of gadgets. He was one of the first doctors in the area to use a computer in 
the 1980s, and enjoyed surfing the web daily until his death.

Dr. Jay is survived by his wife of 47 years, Betsy; his daughters, Susan Drover and her husband 
John of Center Barnstead, and Carolyn Crosby and her husband Peter of Meredith; and his son, 
Andrew Vazifdar and his wife Amy of Manchester; his grandchildren, Christopher Drover and 
his wife Rose Mary, Carolyn Drover, Benjamin and Hannah Crosby; and numerous cousins from 
across the globe.

A memorial service will be held for Dr. Jay at Center Harbor Congregational Church in Center Harbor on Friday, Nov. 25, at 1 p.m. The Rev. Carol Snow-Asher, pastor, will officiate. Burial will be held at the convenience of the family.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Lakes Region Visiting Nurses Association, 186 Waukewan St., Meredith, NH 03253, or the New Hampshire Humane Society, P.O. Box 572, Laconia, NH 03247.

The Mayhew Funeral Homes and Crematorium, in Meredith and Plymouth, are assisting the family with their arrangements. To sign Dr. Jay's Book of Memories, see www.mayhewfuneralhomes.com.