Jason Koop

Thursday, December 12, 2024

I was thrown into a difficult situation at work many years ago. I was inexperienced and overwhelmed. Jerry was such a calming presence on the project and took the time to guide me and support me so that I was successful. He had such patience. I will always remember how much he helped me and always looked forward to working with him on additional engagements over the years. He was so well loved and appreciated! I will miss him!

Levi Shelton

Thursday, December 12, 2024

I worked with Jerry for only a few years, and did not talk with him very personally, but he was one of the most genuine people I've ever worked with. He was always willing to help others in any way he could and was never afraid to tackle the tougher subjects we all had on our minds. I really appreciate the times I was able to work under him.

Mindy Finger

Tuesday, December 10, 2024

I met Jerry over 20 years ago and have enjoyed all the years we have worked together. Many projects along the way. He was one of the best to work with and was always there when we needed help and guidance. He was so genuine and fun to be with. It was always entertaining for us all to be stuck in a small project room together. Lucky for us, we all got along great. So many years and so many experiences. Words cannot express how very deeply we will miss him. There is only one Jerry. Our mentor, leader and above all, our friend. My condolences to Jerry’s family and friends who have lost someone so dear.

Mike Ramelb

Saturday, December 7, 2024

The world lost a great one when Jerry passed. My heart goes out to Shauna, Jeremy, and their families.

I’m so glad that Jerry's winding life path ended up with us meeting nearly a quarter century ago. He was a wonderful co-worker, and an even better friend. I had the pleasure of working with him on several projects throughout the years, and more importantly got to bond with him outside of work. He was passionate and opinionated, and we disagreed on practically everything. I’m sure we amused quite a few bartenders in Missouri, Chicago, and West Virginia! And while I won’t concede that he was right during our “debates”, I’m sure we can all agree he had a wonderful sense of humor, plus a fierce love of life and family. Who can’t love a guy like that

RIP, brother. I miss you dearly!

Steven Garrant

Friday, December 6, 2024

It has been a great pleasure to know and work with Jerry. Prayers to families and friends.

Rusty Frioux

Friday, December 6, 2024

I worked with Jerry at AMS for a few years at the start of my career, and I'll echo what several here have said. Jerry was a friend and mentor to a lot of us, personally and professionally. He modeled that work could be both fun and challenging, that it's never too late to try something new, and that things you learn in one part of your life can be useful in other parts. It's good to hear that other folks had that same experience with him over the years. I'm glad that I knew him, and I wish peace to the everyone that loved him.

David Hay

Thursday, December 5, 2024

Jerry was an amazing co-worker and was always willing to lend a helping hand and provide guidance to all he worked with. Over my 30-year career at AMS/CGI I always knew I could count on him. He will truly be missed.

My sincerest condolences to his family and friends

Traci and Bill Miller

Thursday, December 5, 2024

To the family,

We are deeply sorry for your loss. Both my husband Bill and I had the pleasure of meeting Jerry while working on projects in Michigan. He was an invaluable source of information and assistance during that time.

What we cherished most about Jerry was his vibrant personality. He brought so much joy to our team dinners with his jokes and witty comebacks that never failed to make us laugh out loud. Jerry was truly a character and a lot of fun to be around.

He will be greatly missed by all of us who had the privilege of working with him. I hope that knowing how much he meant to his colleagues brings you some comfort during this difficult time.

With heartfelt condolences,
Traci & Bill Miller

Kay Bing

Wednesday, December 4, 2024

So so very sorry about your dad he was amazing! Hugs to you Shauna and family and Jeremy and family! Much love

Deb Lamm

Tuesday, December 3, 2024

You could not ask for a better co-worker or friend than Jerry. He was a dedicated person to his family and to his fellow employees. May loving memories of your father help you find peace during this difficult time.

Kristina Toy

Monday, December 2, 2024

To my manager/mentor/friend Jerry,

I'm truly gonna miss you man. You were the one that made me the developer I am today; and I couldn't be more grateful. You took a chance on me when no one else would. You are the reason that I love being a developer.

Our check-ins were my favorite part of the week. During meetings, I could always rely on you to crack a good joke or send a hilarious meme to perk me up. Heaven gained a one-of-a-kind dude. May we meet again <3


To the family,

Jerry has a special place in my heart I'm thankful for having the chance to know him. I send my sincerest condolences and will keep you in my prayers.

Leslie Gawkoski

Monday, December 2, 2024

I have worked with Jerry since 2005. Extremely knowledgeable, beyond kind, always willing to jump in when needed help, and voice of calm in stressful situations. I’m heartbroken but also thankful to have known Jerry.

My thoughts are with the family.

Leslie

Adam Cumurcu

Monday, December 2, 2024

I only recently began working with Jerry in 2023, but during the time I knew him it was clear how open and generous he was. He was always there to answer any questions or to help direct you to someone who could. He will be missed by all.

My condolences to his family!

Arunkumar Chegu

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Jerry was a kindhearted, gentle and very helpful soul. He was extremely passionate about his work especially around interfaces/conversion area in Advantage group and had large amount of repository of Pentaho maps and other technical artifacts. As others pointed out, he had great sense of humor, and we will all sorely miss his guidance. My heartfelt condolences to his family members and friends.

Miles Palmer

Sunday, December 1, 2024

Jerry and I were double cousins. His father was my mother’s brother and my father was his mother’s sister.

My family moved from Texas to Arkansas with me in 1960 and we rented a house about 100 yards from Jerry’s parents, Marvin and Laverne Russell, for three years. During those three years, Jerry and I spent a lot of time together exploring the local woods and streams, building forts, playing army, digging holes, blowing up carbide cans, and other boy things.

After my family moved to a new house we built a couple of miles away, Jerry and I continued to do a lot of things together over the next eight years until he graduated from high school and moved away to college in 1971. This included building telescopes and an observatory, flying model rockets, and cave exploring.

The cave exploring was probably our most fun thing. Jerry and I got together with a couple of other boys, John and Bobby. Over a year, mostly one summer, we explored dozens of caves in Carroll and Boone County Arkansas. In some cases, we might have been the only four humans to have ever seen some of those caves. Some things we saw match the most beautiful natural wonders of public caves like Carlsbad Caverns.

Our teenage group of four became something like the “Four Musketeers”. We even named our group the “KPMR Explorers”. The KPMR acronym was from the first letters of our last names. At least a couple of hours were spent haggling over the ordering of the letters. Ultimately, we chose the order that sounded best!

After Jerry moved away, we kept in touch by phone and in person when we could and remained the closest of friends. One year he called me to ask a big question. The question was – Should he change careers at middle age

Jerry trained as a pharmacist and started and ran two successful pharmacy businesses. During that time, he became convinced that a computer program to check drug interactions would be the best way to ensure safety in the pharmacy business.

Jerry taught himself computer programming and developed one of the first drug interaction safety programs ever created. Jerry attempted for several years to sell his safety program but was ultimately unsuccessful due to other large companies entering this space.

When Jerry called me to ask the big question, he told me he was far happier programming than being a pharmacist. He wanted to change careers but was concerned that he was too old and had too many responsibilities.

I told Jerry that changing careers so radically in midlife was a very brave thing to consider, and that I admired his thinking about it. I asked him if he would happy staying a pharmacist the rest of his life. He said no. I said his being happy was important, so he should consider that.

Jerry did a brave thing and switched careers and became one of the top programmers in the US in his field. Aside from his family and friends, I believe Jerry’s most important legacy is that many COBOL and other computer programs used by city, local, and state governments across the US would not still be functioning without Jerry’s contributions.

As we grew older and had many family and career commitments, Jerry and I saw each other less, but we still talked many times per year. We talked a lot about science fiction, science, engineering, and “the meaning of it all”.

When Jerry entered the ICU in Mountain Home I flew there as soon as possible and spent three days with him. Although Jerry had great difficulty speaking, we had enough interchange to convince me that Jerry had a good attitude. Jerry was a very brave man, and I don’t believe he was fearful at the end.

Leon Esterhuizen

Friday, November 29, 2024

I joined Jerry’s team in 2022. When Jerry interviewed me, I knew right away that I wanted to work with him. Jerry was always approachable and always made time to meet with me regardless of how busy he was. I loved Jerry’s sense of humor and admired his calm demeanor and ability to work through the most strenuous tasks. Jerry certainly made the world a better place.

My sincerest condolences to the family!

Wael Amoudi

Friday, November 29, 2024

It is truly hard to believe that Jerry is no longer with us! Jerry was a remarkable colleague who left a lasting impression on everyone around him. His talents, support, and compassion enriched our workplace in countless ways. His presence will be deeply missed, but his contributions and memories will be cherished forever. My heartfelt to the family and friends.

Pat Fisher

Thursday, November 28, 2024

I was saddened to hear about Jerry’s passing. Over my 31 years at AMS / CGI, I had the privilege of working with him off and on, and he truly stood out as the consummate professional. Jerry approached his work with a level of dedication and expertise that was inspiring, and his demeanor made working with him a pleasure.

He will be greatly missed, both as a colleague and as a person. My prayers and condolences to his family, friends, and everyone who had the honor of knowing him.

Benjamin Pomeroy

Thursday, November 28, 2024

I've know and worked with Jerry for 26 years. He always had a joke or a story for the situation and a rare gift to lighten the mood of a tense room. Jerry and I spent many hours discussing books and politics. He was always someone I could depend on. I will miss him.

Tan cao

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

My dear homie Jerry,

I was so looking forward to calling you on Thanksgiving; not only to surprise you but to say THANK YOU and with one last "I love you man..." shoutout. I know that it would bring a smile out of you. We will all miss you at CGI, your kindness and support are a model for all of us to follow. Even close to your last breath, you still think and care for everyone around you - family, friends, and colleagues (or "partners" - You would get a good kick out of that one huh ;-) ). It is sad for me personally as there won't be another "Tan & Jerry" show to entertain and deliver projects together. I will do my best keep your legacy with us and if I can be just 10% of you then it would be enough for me. May God keep you and there's no more pain and suffering at your new home in heaven. Hey man! - No more Actian/Pentaho maps to deal with! kakakakakakak I hate you man as I'm in tears, but I love you MORE!

Rest in peace my brother!

Tan (no longer the man!)


*** My condolences to the entire family and friends ***

Vigna Nalliah

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

Although Gerry didn't remember this, but we were on the same project many, many years ago in Illinois but it was on the recent Illinois project we got to know each other better. When we get on the phone, we most often delve into topics that are not work related because Gerry was such an easy person to talk to. I always felt comfortable reaching out to him to get answers to my questions. He was willing to help and offer his words of wisdom. Such a smart man and it is a monumental loss. We have several of his code running in the project and they will remain as memory of his great contributions. May your kind soul rest in peace, my friend.

Raul

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

I got to meet Jerry during my first project at work and he had been such an influential, respected and trusted developer that practically everything that runs for this project has been touched by Jerry in some form or another. His legacy will continue even after his passing and I as a developer will not forget all his contributions; Jerry's expertise and knowledge allowed me to grow as a developer just by even looking at his code in order to get different perspectives and ideas. You will be missed Jerry and may you rest in peace.

My sincerest condolences to his friends and family

Subhajeet Chowdhury

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

I have known Jerry since 2012 and he has been a mentor and a guide to me ever since. I have loved working with him in CGI and enjoyed his anecdotes and witty one liners. He has always been there to help me, guide me, mentor me or often just talk. He will be dearly missed by everyone who knew him or worked with him.

My deepest condolences to the entire family !

Tony Shewchenko

Wednesday, November 27, 2024

I got to know Jerry just this year. What a great personality! Strong technical background and a wonderful sense of humor made my transition to the team less formidable. He has a large following in CGI and I'm sure you'll hear some amazing stories from people who have had their careers shaped in positive ways by his leadership.

My condolences to the family and close friends!