Jerry, our professor de Français, died March 27, 2013, in Cooperstown, N.Y., near his home in Cherry Valley.
Jerry spent 1939–40 at the Université de Neuchâtel in Switzerland. Before joining the Air Force, he taught at Fishburne Military School. He served our country in England, the Ukraine, and Germany, retiring in 1946 as a captain.
After one year at Cooperstown Academy, Jerry joined the faculty of South Kent (Conn.) School, where he taught French and Latin and coached tennis, ice hockey, and football for 35 years. Two sabbaticals found him back in France: at the Université de Poitiers (1957–1959) and teaching English to air-traffic controllers in Toulouse (1974–1975).
Jerry loved nature; like Candide, he cultivated his garden(s). He established a model tree farm in Roseboom, N.Y., near Cherry Valley, and restored an 1852 family barn — both of which earned him awards.
In 1979, Jerry wrote, “We should continue to study the liberal arts, contemplate the rise and fall of man’s hopes and aspirations, be more modest in our ambitions, more humble when we judge others, and thank the Lord for what we have.”
To Nancy, his wife of 70 years; his three daughters; and six grandchildren, the class extends sympathy and says, “Merci.”