Beloved Jerry Wayne West departed this earthly dwelling on May 8, 2022, at the very young age of 75. He was born in Stockton, CA, on Aug 17, 1946, to Rolland and Dorothy (Robbins) West. He was a fun-loving, kind, adventurous spirit who enjoyed music, dancing, medical journals, windsurfing, estate sales, and whispering "sweet nothings". He would find something to say to lighten the heart, when others would tend to take life too seriously; albeit, I'm sure he pondered some of our thoughts, as well. He protected his sisters from the Harvey boys, and tormented them with tarantulas and raw eggs. He loved lots of jelly on his toast and occasionally, pulled a prank on good old Dad, on vacations (i.e., rubberbands and peanuts, under the tobacco in his pipe!)
Jerry grew up in Stockton, Guam, Illinois, then Amarillo and Lubbock, TX, where he graduated from Monterey High School. The family moved to San Antonio, TX, where he entered San Antonio College. He went on to Texas A & M, in Abilene, to obtain a degree in Wildlife Biology. While at College Station, he taught himself how to scuba dive. His first tank was a fire extinguisher! (Of course, he had the tank pressure checked, before using it as such). Being the Vietnam Era at the time, he was "encouraged to join" the military. So, he joined the Air Force and was stationed at Dyess AFB, TX, Lowry AFB, CO, and Incirlik, Turkey. He served in the U.S. Air Force for 4 years, in the Precision Measurement Equipment Lab (PMEL) at Incirlik and enjoyed scuba diving for eels and artifacts in the Mediterranean. (Oh, but he knew he could not take any artifacts home.) After his discharge from the military and while overseas, he explored Europe for a month, before returning to the U.S. He was employed as a forest ranger in Boise, Idaho, then settled in Denver, CO, where he worked for several firms before landing a great job as a QA inspector at Ball Aerospace. He resided in Golden, CO, for most of his later years, first in an apartment and then in 1986 the home he lived in and manicured the rest of his life. He was a real handyman and could repair most anything he owned, purchased for a bargain price, or was brought to him for repairs by neighbors. The neighbors loved him. He was into outdoor sports (wind surfing, skiing, hunting, fishing, hiking, biking) and into music. He could play a variety of instruments (piano, guitar, drums, accordion) and even install pipe organs in churches (Hey, Jerry, you left one at Dad's ole place). But then his interest in ball room dancing waxed considerably, and he made the circuit of dance halls in the Denver area. He became very good at it, teaching himself so that he could teach others. He became highly respected for his skills and ability to connect with his students.
Jerry is survived by an older brother and his wife, Virgil & LaNae (Taraba) West, and two younger sisters and their husbands, Carol Ann (West) & Stephen Jenkins, and Donna (West) & Steven DaLuz. Jerry has many nieces and nephews who he enjoyed being with at holiday get-togethers. We eventually met "Patty Cake", a good friend and dance partner for more than 5 years, and with whom we have become good friends. Through it all, he loved people.