In Memoriam: Jay Thomas Hohenhaus, MNA, CRNA (1963-2023)

Jay Thomas Hohenhaus, MNA, CRNA, age 60, of Columbia Crossroads, Pennsylvania and sometimes Morehead City, North Carolina, departed this life unexpectedly in the early morning hours of December 5, 2023. He was born in Sauk Centre, Minnesota on January 4, 1963 to Drs. Herbert and Helen Hohenhaus. He spent his early years in Osakis, Minnesota, where as a young boy and learned how to answer the phone in his father’s veterinary clinic. He later moved to Laurel, Maryland and then to Oneonta, New York, where he graduated from Oneonta High School.

He entered the US Army Special Forces in 1981 and earned his Green Beret as a 5th Group Company Medic at Fort Bragg, North Carolina and Fort Sam Houston, Texas before he developed Type I Diabetes, cutting his military career short. “DocHo” then graduated from SUNY Brooklyn in 1987 as a Registered Nurse with a Bachelor of Science degree and immediately began his career as an emergency nurse, working in community and academic hospitals before becoming a flight nurse in 1991 at Carolina Air Care at the University of North Carolina. He was a Nationally Registered Paramedic, volunteering for South Orange Rescue Squad in Carrboro, North Carolina. In 2004, he graduated from the University of South Carolina with a Masters in Nurse Anesthesia, earning his credentials as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist. Since then, he has been a practicing CRNA, most recently with the surgical team at UPMC Wellsboro. He was a skilled and compassionate clinician and educator, known by everyone as the “gadget guy” and the “walking encyclopedia.” And of course, everyone loved “the epidural guy.”

On May 18, 1991, he married Dr. Susan McDaniel Hohenhaus, and they shared a life and partnership for more than 32 years. They traveled the world for pleasure, business, and mission. Jay was incredibly proud of his daughters, Haley Stager (Zach), Jillian Wagner (Patrick), Caitlyn White (David Carl), and Dana Atkin (Ricky). He took great joy in their six grands, Izabella, Cullen and Conley, Ian and Maryn, and Jamison. Of all of his titles, being Grammyman and Poppy Gagas — and sometimes Mr. Napkinhead — were his favorites. Jay was an expert competitive marksman, military historian, and Cooper Scholar with an international network that frequently sought his knowledge and information. Besides his wife, daughters, and grandchildren, he is survived by his sisters, Dr. Ann Hohenhaus (Dr. Phil Fox) and Dr. Mary Hohenhaus (John Totter). His brother, Dr. Guy Hohenhaus, preceded him in death, as did his parents. He is also survived by many nieces, nephews, and in-laws who were some of his dearest friends.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to South Orange Rescue Squad, Carrboro, NC or Ridgebury Volunteer Fire Company, Gillett, PA.

This obituary originally appeared on Buckheit Funeral Chapel and Crematory’s website.