Jerry Louis Sherman
Share
Jerry Louis Sherman, age 93, of Lawrence, Kansas passed away peacefully at home from natural causes on Sunday, November 15, 2020. Jerry was born in Iola, Kansas on April 20, 1927 and was the eldest of two sons to Avery Lenox and Parilee Octavia “Tave” (Long) Sherman. Jerry attended schools in Kansas, Texas, and New Mexico as a youth given his father’s employment as a nitroglycerin “shooter” for oil drilling companies. Jerry always considered Iola, Kansas as his hometown, where he married Nellouise (Nell) Shanahan on June 10, 1951.
Jerry attended Allen County Community College and the University of Kansas where he studied architecture and was a member of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity. During the end of World War II, Jerry enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served in North Carolina until 1946. In 1952, Jerry joined the Air Force as a commissioned officer where he earned his “wings” as a licensed pilot in July of 1953. Jerry had a 20-year career in the Air Force, flying thousands of hours in 19 different aircraft, including a year-long Vietnam war tour in 1967-68 where he flew over 1,200 hours of combat missions in a Cessna 0-1 Bird Dog. During his career, Jerry earned 14 medals including the Distinguished Flying Cross, The Bronze Star, and The Meritorious Service Medal. Air Force career highlights include being a member of Strategic Air Command (SAC), and piloting a communications plane during President Richard Nixon’s tour around the world in 1969. Jerry retired from the Air Force at the rank of Major. The family moved to Lawrence, Kansas in 1972 where Jerry worked at Packer Plastics as a purchasing agent. Jerry also had a 15-year career with the U.S Post Office in Lawrence when he retired in 1994.
Nell and Jerry have three sons Tom (born 1953), Barry (1959), and Fred (1964), and one daughter Penny (1955). Jerry’s love for flying led to the purchase of a new Cessna 152 (N94962) in the mid-1980’s where Jerry flew the plane to Lawrence from the Cessna factory in Wichita. Jerry utilized his Cessna 152 for many years as a flight instructor as he taught dozens of individuals in the Lawrence area how to fly, including his sons and daughter. Jerry kept his pilot’s license active and current well after he turned the age of 80. Jerry was a Boy’s Scout leader, a Mason, and belonged to the Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), and other fraternal organizations during his lifetime.
Jerry was preceded in death by his wife of 61 years, Nellouise of Lawrence, Kansas: his parents of Wichita Falls, Texas; and his brother, Thomas Avery Sherman of Mount Pleasant, Texas. Jerry is survived by sons, Thomas B. and wife Marilyn, Barry N. and wife Rita, Frederick L. and wife Susan, all of Olathe, Kansas; one daughter, Penny Tubbs Johnson and husband Gary, of Arlington, Texas; nine grandchildren, and seven great-grandchildren.
Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, November 20 with a visitation on Thursday, November 19 from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at Warren-McElwain 120 West 13th
Lawrence, KS 66044. His body will be laid to rest at Lawrence Memorial Park Cemetery.
Penny, so very sorry for the loss of your father. He was an amazing father with many accomplishments and outstanding awards. You certainly are recipient of many of his talents.
May God‘s love, peace and comfort be with you and your family at this time of sorrow.
Dear Penny,
You have our deepest sympathy. What an outstanding man your father was! He was very proud of you and loved you dearly. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
Blessings,
Linda and Sam
Dear Penny,
We are so sad to learn of your father’s passing. We first met him through you, but we got to know him as our friend. He was always smiling, always supportive of my children’s book(how many did he buy?), and always so proud of you. He will be missed.
So sorry to hear about your Dad’s passing.
A good heart has stopped beating, a good soul ascended to heaven!
I just read your Dad’s ‘condensed life story’,
Now I know why you are so versatile & talented, you had an amazing teacher!
I can only imagine how proud you are of each other!
What you are going through right now is a hard/sad time.
Just know I am ALWAYS here for you!
My love, Suz
Dearest Penny,
I am sorry sorry to hear of the loss of your “very special” Dad. What an amazing life story! No words can truly express my condolences enough. The good Lord felt another had earned his wings. Your Dad will be looking down from above now with pride and smiling big at the wonderful, talented, kind hearted, caring daughter that he helped raise. May the good Lord keep him in his tender loving care always.
Love you so…. so…. much! ♥
Penny,
What a gift to have a Father so Amazing, A father who like you obviously never said no to adventure. Life is all about looking forward to journeys, battles to conquer, roads in which we can choose to travel to see what lies ahead. You are your Fathers Daughter, never saying No, tirelessly your can add more and more to your plate…. Never missing the next opportunity for experiencing Life at its fullest and reaping its best. After reading your Fathers obituary who the Major was, his accolades it is Crystal Clear how and why you are who you are. Proud does not even begin to express how you must feel. I know I am always amazed at the level of life at which you keep a standard. Please know your Father is not suffering, He is not sad, He is in the best possible place to begin is final Chapter of Life… He lived the adventure he chose and and a new one has just begun…Heaven only knows what s in store for him, but we hope he is preparing a way for the rest of you when God is reading to call you home. Celebrate his Life, Remember all and who he was. hen you are sad recall his smile, when you get lonely remember the good times, and when you need comfort hold on to the memories.
Penny, I see your Father in you…I am so grateful and honored to share in his memory and to let you know I am with you in Spirit, to offer condolences and comfort. You are such a Special Person, with a team of women in your life that adore and respect you. I consider myself Blessed to call you a friend.
You are in my thoughts and prayers.
Love always,
Rene’ West
SWING BY FOR PIE (if your DRIVING)
Please feel free to stop by my Renew Consign & Cafe’ in Andover / Wichita, I just begun to bake my famous Homemade Pies: Pumpkin, Apple, Cherry, Southern Pecan, Georgia Fresh Peach & 15 more… (freeze great – so putting in the Freezer) for Thanksgiving..I would love to give one to you, Madeline F. And if you could bring home a Chocolate & Pecan for Mom & Dad since I cant be with them this year.
We are so very, very sorry to hear of the passing of “cousin Jerry”, nephew of our father, the late Dewey E. Long. We remember Jerry’s visits over the years when we were growing up in the Washington, D.C. area, as the amazing “flying ace relative!” A terrific all around person, missed by all whose path he crossed. God Bless!
I always considered Cousin Jerry to be the last link to my Dad’s (Dewey E. Long) early life in Kansas. Jerry was a living War Hero, a flyer, a devoted family man and one of my Dad’s and our family’s favorites. Jerry and I were occasional pen pals for over 70 years. I treasured his letters.
This truly was a sweet service for Jerry and for the family. Due to the COVID 19 virus and a husband with health issues, I decided not to attend. I thought the world of your dad Penny, as I had the privilege of knowing and working with him at the Postal Service. We had many great talks, many of Nell and her beautiful quilts. I was also blessed with receiving some of Jerry’s woodworking projects, a wine bottle holder, and a scarf clip. After retirement we had some fun lunches also. You and your family were very important to him, as he was to you—he will be terribly missed. God bless you and your family. PS, I also have some fond memories of you too Penny and wish you all the best.
Sending much love your way,
Cheryl Bowman
Dear PENNY,
No wonder you are such a loving, giving and talented woman – you had the very best model and teacher. He certainly had a most interesting and exciting life and he passed it all on to you. You have brought great joy to so many women (and the men in their lives). I know you will miss him so much, but you have such wonderful memories to fall back on. And a family that loves you, including all your Red Hat sisters. I am thrilled to be one of them.
Love and blessings always, Delores