August 5, 1952 –  August 23, 2012 The two most important things of Jerry were his family and sports. He was a accomplished athlete with multiple college scholarship offers for baseball and football. However, after the passing of his father when he was a senior in high school, he stayed behind to help care for his mother and younger brother. As he always said “family comes first.” He did accomplish his dreams of a college degree and becoming a coach later in life. Coaching sports was a true passion for Jerry whether it was his job of coaching high school students in football and baseball, coaching his children’s little league baseball team or basketball teams and teaching countless kids the sports he loved. He also enjoyed coaching from his Lazy-Boy recliner while watching his beloved teams, the Texas Rangers and UT Longhorns. Even though his passion was for sports and his family, he also had a desire to help others in the community. He helped raise money for and establish the Whtewright EMS department when it was a volunteer service and he helped build base fields in the community. For his love of helping kids and caring for others, and for his courage, he was honored with the Kyle Jordan Courage Award in 2006 at the Whitewright ISD sports banquet. Jerry’s enthusiasm and energy for sports, family and life will forever be missed along with the smily that could make anybody’s day better.