JONES, Gerald (Jerry) Joseph (Father-in-law of EMCC Regional Minister, Rev. Brian Archer)
March 20, 1931 - March 7, 2021
Gerald (Jerry) Joseph Jones passed away peacefully the evening of March 7, 2021, at Chinook Hospice in Calgary a few days short of his 90th birthday.
Jerry was born on March 20, 1931, in Halifax, NS. He moved to Calgary with his parents when the war effort moved against Japan. When the war was over, his father Ken had 20 years of service and chose to retire from the army in Calgary where the family stayed. Jerry joined the Canadian Military Reserve as a private, took officer training, received his commission, and retired as a Major. He served in the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps (RCOC) which was rebadged as the Logistics Branch, where he retired after 18 years of service.
Jerry attended SAIT where he studied Surveying and Drafting. He was hired by a Velocity Company, an oil exploration company. While working in Rocky Mountain House, he met his future wife, Miss Hilja Elizabeth Syren. They would attend dances in Rocky Mountain House and especially enjoyed jiving. He left the Velocity Company and returned to Calgary where they grew apart. However, five years later they got together, got engaged, married, and had a family of 6 kids.
Once Jerry was back in Calgary, he focused on his drafting career, working at V. Zay Smith Associates, J. C. Sproule and Associates and Forest Oil. When Forest Oil joined the Canadian Oil Scouts Association, Jerry made a career change to Oil Scout which led him to Home Oil where he eventually retired.
Jerry volunteered as a driver during the 1988 Winter Olympic Games. After the Olympic Games, he drove a School Bus for 7 years. After which, most of his efforts were with the Corpus Christi Catholic Church and Knights of Columbus, and he joined the Calgary Airport ‘White Hatters’ in 1997 where he volunteered for 20 years.
Jerry’s wife, Hilja, predeceased him in 2016 after 58 years of marriage. He is also predeceased by his parents Kenneth and Mary Jones, and brother Robert Jones. He is survived by his sister Gwen Shatford (Ed); brothers David Jones (Cecile) and Richard Jones (Norma); children Michael (Darlene), Sheryl (Tim), Stephen (Colette), Diana (Brian*), Carolyn (Brian), and Keith (Jodi); grandchildren Ryan (Tara), Derek, Kyle, Rachel, Jennifer (James), Jamie, David, Nathan; and great-grandchild Madyson.
*Rev. Brian Archer is an EMCC Ordained Minister and Regional Minister.
A Private Funeral Mass took place on Wednesday, March 10, 2021, at Corpus Christi Catholic Church.
EMCC Communications
March 15, 2021
