Area remembers farmer killed in ATV accident 'He always had a smile on his face'

MILLERTON — Local residents and family took the time to remember Jay Coll, the 47-year-old manager of the Four Brothers Dairy Goat Farm who died May 17 after an ATV accident.

Coll had been working on the McGhee Hill Road farm, owned by Peter Stefanopoulos, since 1994. On May 17 he was riding an ATV up a hill on the farm when the vehicle tipped over and landed on top of him.

Coll was known in the community as someone who would always step in with a helping hand.

“The best way I would describe him from talking to everybody is that he always had a smile on his face,� said his sister, Jennifer Coll. “He would help anybody or any of the farmers with anything in town. We heard great stories of how he helped people, and he loved when kids would stop by the goat farm. He would stop what he was doing and take the time to show them around.�

“We always called him ‘Jaybird,’� said Talk of the Towne Deli co-owner Sandy Sherman. “He was like family to us. He was there every day, and if he didn’t show we were out looking for him!� she added, laughing.

“He had a heart of gold,� insisted Dave MacMillan. “Everybody knew him and he helped out all the local farmers in need. Personally for me, he volunteered to come and burn wood to help subsidize the heat in our house. He cut up all the wood to split. He had a heart of gold,� he repeated.

MacMillan and farmer Jim Perotti raised $1,300 to purchase a memorial boulder in Coll’s memory to rest in a special memorial garden at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds. There will be a ceremony held later this summer. The money left over will be donated to the Junior Holstein Association Club.

“We’re just gonna miss him,� Sherman added, saying that his family had stopped by the deli with a picture of Coll that will be hung in memoriam on the deli’s wall. “He was a great guy. He always had a smile on his face and he will truly be missed.�

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