Jay Holstein walked into a University of Iowa lecture hall, wearing a black leather jacket and his signature aviators, and looked out at a room full of trembling freshmen. Then he led class with a line one former student never forgot:

“We are all going to die. Ecclesiastes. So, make every day count.”

Welcome to college, kids.

UI alumnus John Shallman shared that memory in an open letter posted by the university after Holstein’s death.

Holstein, an emeritus professor in the Department of Religious Studies who spent more than five decades at Iowa and taught tens of thousands of students, died Nov. 14, 2025, in Ames after a brief illness. He was 87, according to his family obituary .

He was born March 22, 1938, in Philadelphia, to Belle and Jules Holstein. He graduated cum laude with

See Full Page