Jerry Don was a wonderful uncle and great uncle. He had a big heart and would go above and beyond to help those he knew. Anyone who met Jerry Don instantly liked him. Jerry Don was easy to talk to and had knowledge on so many topics. When I needed tech support I would go to him.

From growing up with Jerry Don to learning to call him J.D. when we worked together at Toshiba, I was honored to know him as a real friend. With his unique creativity, great sense of humor, and contagious laugh he generously shared of himself to cheer others, but also had a serious side when concerned over a loved one or asking for prayer. If he even thought he may have offended, he was courageous enough to make it right. From claiming me as a sister in order to make a little boy stop pulling my hair when we were in the service for younger children at church youth camp, to providing advice on my resume when we knew our jobs at Toshiba were ending - the good memories are many.

This photo was taken on J.D.'s last day at Toshiba.

I'm praying the Lord will be close to all the family and strengthen you now and in the days ahead.

Jerry Don was a kind man with a lot of positivity and love for others. He was generous with his resources and time. He was also a little bit of a nerd with technology and astronomy, which made him really fun to talk to. His passion and joy lit up his face when discussing his hobbies. I've been missing him already the last few days. (This picture is from mine and Jackie's wedding in 2016.)

JD was a good friend and former coworker of mine. I introduced him to astronomy one night in the Toshiba parking lot when I showed him Jupiter and Saturn in a small telescope I had recently purchased. From then on he was hooked!

JD new people, and he knew of my love for astronomy and optics. One day I arrived at work to find a pair of binoculars on my desk. “What are these,” I inquired. He replied, “I bought these at K Mart and wanted to know what you think of them.” I picked them up and tried to view through them as best I could in our lab. “These are impressive,” I said, as I walked over to hand them back to him. JD could not contain himself any longer and busted out in that enthusiastic and contagious JD laugh. Unbeknownst to me, he had taken graphite from several pencils and coated the rubber eyecups of the binoculars. When he was finally able to control himself, he produced a mirror that showed a broad, dark ring around each of my eyes that made me look like a raccoon! He had set me up, royally! We both enjoyed a good laugh that morning.

On another occasion he said, “Hey, I got a new scope! Let me show it to you!” He then proceeded to show me the picture that I have included here.

JD, I don’t know if I ever met a kinder soul or one that I enjoyed a good laugh with as much as you. I will truly miss you, my friend. Somehow the world seems duller today, but I can imagine things are really kickin’ in heaven. The next time I hear thunder, I will think of your laughter. See you again one day, my friend!

This was the first time I met JD. He was a great astronomer and a good friend. I will miss him. I wish I had seen him more lately. Much love to Angie and family from Karma