Former Venture editor Robert Jahn, class of 1969, lost his battle to lung cancer on Nov. 17. He would have turned 63 on Dec. 2. The following comes from a letter written by Greg Wayland, co-founder of Venture and friend of Jahn:

“[Jahn] was an English major and a 1969 graduate… [Several years after graduation] he went home to live in his hometown of Mantoloking, New Jersey on the Jersey shore and he became a renowned local historian of the Barnegat Bay region. He is best remembered there for his book, Down Barnegat Bay, A Nor’easter Midnight Reader, a cultural history of Barnegat Bay… He was instrumental in founding Seascape, the literary magazine of Ocean County College, which published the works of students, including Bruce Springsteen. After coming to Suffolk, he took over as second editor of Venture and oversaw publication of some four issues… In the mid-1970s, student interest in Venture was waning and, at the urging of faculty advisor, Dr. Robert Johnson, he and I put together a fifth anniversary issue, an anthology of previous Venture works—what Bob called the magazine’s ‘greatest hits.’ The issue proved to be the bridge to healthier times for Venture.”