he University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center has lost one of its best friends with the passing of Mr. Jay Weiss on January 31st.”

That statement i a letter to medical center emp-loyees from Dean John G. Clarkson, M.D., and Public Health Trust President Marvin O’Quinn summed it up: The death of philanthropist Jay W. Weiss is an incalculable loss to UM/Jackson. Weiss devoted much of his life to championing the cause of public health, while at the same time building Southern Wine & Spirits into the country’s largest liquor distributor.

“Jay was a longtime champion of the less fortunate in our community and one of the School of Medicine’s greatest and most caring friends,” says Clarkson. Overall, Weiss raised more than $150 million for UM, including millions in his own special contributions.

He served as former chairman of the Miami-Dade County Public Health Trust, which oversees Jackson Memorial Hospital, and was instrumental in getting voters to pass the half-penny sales tax in 1991 to support UM/Jackson. He also was largely responsible for making the $28 million Ryder Trauma Center a reality.

“Jay Weiss was larger than life,” says UM President Donna E. Shalala. “He leaves a hole so deep it will take all of us a lifetime to fulfill his dreams of educational opportunity and good health for everyone in our community.” His own health failed a year ago when he was diagnosed with lung cancer. Despite successful surgery, the cancer returned seven months later. Weiss was 76.