Rochelle

Jerrold David "Jerry" VanKirk, 82, Rochelle, passed away peacefully on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.

Jerry was born on June 27, 1934 to Robert James and Glayds Victoria (Rutherford) VanKirk in Rochelle. When he was 7 years old, his father passed away of a heart attack and left behind Jerry and his three older siblings.

Jerry entered the U. S. Army in 1957. He served two years, where he was a cryptographic (code) machine repairman and attended signal school. Through his military career he served at Fort Monmouth in New Jersey and Fort Riley in Kansas, as well as in Colorado and Georgia. Since he remained in the Army Reserves, he had another tour of service during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1961, at which point he served for an additional year. While on that tour, he earned the Expert Carbine Medal.

When he returned from the Army, he went back to work as a self-employed painter for many years, working for various contractors. He began working for Northern Illinois University in 1980 and retired in 2000.

In October of 1965, he met his future wife, Patricia Newbern, who was a young physical education teacher in Ashton. They were married on June 5, 1966.

Anyone who knew Jerry loved his subtle, yet sharp sense of humor. He was an honest man and always saw the good in people. He was a mentor and made a difference with young apprentices and other coworkers. Jerry was a talented musician and played everything by ear, it didn't matter if it was a harmonica, an organ, a ukulele or a juice harp. Jerry was an excellent cook and enjoyed his time in the kitchen.

He liked traveling, adored his granddaughter, Hannah Claire Schmidt, and went to many of Hannah's gymnastic events. In addition, Jerry and Pat took Hannah on several vacations to places such as Hersheypark in Pennsylvania, Chattanooga, Tenn. and Canada.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, Robert "Bob" VanKirk and John VanKirk and his wife, Mary Ann, all of Rochelle; his sister, Helen Jean Bass; and his in-laws, Louis and Pauline Newbern.

He is survived by, Pat, his wife of 50 years, six months; daughter, Pamela (Jim DeRose) Schmidt of Glenview; son, Jerrold (Crystal) VanKirk of Rockford; granddaughter, Hannah Claire Schmidt of Glenview; sisters-in-law, Donna (John) Horn of Loves Park and Rosemary VanKirk of Rochelle; nieces and nephews, Susan (Jim) McGowan of Oswego, Connie (Ken) Dougherty of Rochelle, Diane Swanson of Rochelle, Bob (Gayle Anne) VanKirk of Wisconsin, Teresa (Rick Kettley) Herber of Steward, Jon VanKirk of Rochelle, Kim (Peter) Stevens of Milwaukee and Michelle (Brian) Holdiman of Yorkville; several great nieces and nephews; and many, many loyal friends.

A funeral service will be held on Friday, Dec. 9, 2016 at 10:30 am at Unger Horner Funeral Home, 400 N. Sixth Street, Rochelle with Chaplain Judy Williams officiating. A visitation will be held Thursday, December 8 from 4:00 – 8:00 pm at the funeral home. Burial will be at Trinity Memorial Gardens in Rochelle. Memorials may be made to Serenity Hospice and Home in Oregon. To view the online guestbook, go to www.ungerhorner.com.