Jeffrey Owen Segrave (born 1947), renowned educator and beloved father and friend, died on September 3, 2026, after a battle with illness. He passed away at home in the arms of his children at the age of 78.

Jeff was born in Birmingham, England and moved to the village of Long Ashton in Bristol with his parents when he was a small child. Growing up in the English countryside, his family life was centered around the Long Ashton Golf Club, igniting a life-long passion for all sports. His life in England was marked by the closest of friendships and an early interest in education – both physical and intellectual – attending Bristol Cathedral School and the University of Exeter.

After graduating college, he pursued graduate school in America, obtaining a Master’s Degree at Washington State University. He then attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst to start his PhD, where he “took a liking to a Viking”: the Swedish-American gymnast Doris Swanberg. When Jeff left UMass and returned to England to work at Marlborough College, Doris came over to see him, reigniting their spark. Several years of transcontinental dating finally ended when Jeff came back to America to complete his PhD at Arizona State University and the two got married in Stoughton, MA in 1977.

In the fall of 1978, Jeff started as a professor of sport studies and a tennis coach at Skidmore College, the institution to which he dedicated his life, with a career that spanned 47 years across several departments and programmes. Retired in May 2025 as the David H. Porter Endowed Chair and Professor of Health and Human Physiological Sciences, he was a sport sociologist broadly, and an internationally recognized scholar of the Olympics in particular. Jeff’s interests in sport, culture, and American life were wide and he was a prolific writer, having authored and co-authored hundreds of publications.

Not only the consummate Teacher-Scholar, he was also the devoted and beloved coach of the Women’s Tennis team for over 25 years. He was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Coaches Association (ITA) Division III Coach of the Year in 1996; he led his teams collectively and players individually to numerous achievements, including winning the NCAA Division III National Title in 1998. He was inducted into the Skidmore Athletics Hall of Fame in 2007. In addition, he was one of the few faculty members to have received all three of the College’s major faculty awards: the Ralph A. Ciancio Award for Excellence in Teaching, the Edwin M. Moseley Faculty Research Lectureship, and the Phyllis A. Roth Faculty Distinguished Service Award.

A remarkable community citizen, Jeff’s impact on generations of students, colleges, and friends was only matched by his love of his family. He cherished his summers at home and in England with his children, camping as a family with their best friends on Lake George, and supporting them throughout their lives. When his wife was struck by cancer, he spent over two years full- time caring for her, never leaving her side.

He is survived by his three children, Hannah Segrave (St Louis, MO), Samuel Segrave (Saratoga Springs, NY), and Grace Segrave (New York, NY), and their partners and family, Dan DiPiero, Etta Kroner, and Quinn Baurle. He is preceded in death by his beloved wife, Doris Segrave, and his parents, Jack and Ethel Segrave.

Funeral services will be held at First Baptist Church, 45 Washington St, Saratoga Springs, NY 12866, on Saturday September 12, 2026 at 11:00 am, or may be viewed online (link to live streaming will be posted within the next few days). A celebration of his life at the family home will immediately follow.

Online remembrances may be made at www.burkefuneralhome.com