A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Feb. 2 at 10 a.m. in Holy Cross Church, 30 Ward Ave., Rumson, for Deacon Jay Cleveland Harbeck who died Jan. 18. He was 78.

Viewing hours will be held Feb. 1 from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m. at John E. Day Funeral Home, 85 Riverside Ave., Red Bank. Burial will follow the funeral Mass in the Mount Olivet Cemetery, Middletown.

Born in Elizabeth, Deacon Harbeck was a magna cum laude graduate of Princeton University where he was awarded a bachelor’s degree in humanities. He was a Fulbright Scholar and studied at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universitat Freiburg in Germany. He was a captain in the U.S. Air Force and served as an intelligence officer in the Strategic Air Command division from 1958-1964. In 1962, he earned a master’s degree in business administration from Harvard University. In 1995, he was granted a doctor of humane letters from Georgian Court University, Lakewood.

Deacon Harbeck raised his family in Rumson and retired to Fripp Island, S.C., in 2001. He worked on Wall Street for close to 40 years. He held positions at firms including F.S. Smithers & CO., Anchor National Life Insurance Co. and U.S. Trust Co. of New York before retiring as a first vice president, portfolio manager from the Merrill Lynch Asset Management division in 2001.

In 1978, he was ordained a permanent deacon by Bishop George W. Ahr in St. Mary of the Assumption Cathedral, Trenton, and served in that capacity for 35 years in Nativity Parish, Fair Haven, Holy Cross Parish, Rumson, and in Holy Cross Mission, St. Helena Island, S.C.

Deacon Harbeck was predeceased by his parents John Lloyd Harbeck and Lois Cleveland Harbeck; his wife of 53 years, Ella Anne Phillips Harbeck, and two brothers. He is survived by three daughters, Dorothy Anne Harbeck (and close friend Karen), Claire Lois (Matthew) Izzo, Jean Marie (Kevin) Scully, and five grandchildren.