Saying Goodbye

Saying Goodbye to Jerry is particularly difficult because my favorite exchange with Jerry was always our "hellos." Jerry was an avid Seinfeld watcher, so our phone calls and/or emails always began with the Seinfeld/Newman greeting - "Helllooooooo, Jerry" to which he'd retort with Seinfeld's snide greeting to Newman, except with my name inserted. Corny, but we happily kept it up for all the years I knew him.

I met Jerry in 1998 through my friends, Donna and Rebel. Jerry designed and hosted a website for me and basically answered every question I had regarding anything even remotely related to computers. I moved from Nashville to LA in 2001, and Jerry remained my faithful technical support guru across the miles. One year, I FedExed him a broken laptop, and on numerous occasions he would take remote control of my computer to fix whatever mess I'd gotten into. For all the time, energy, and expertise Jerry generously shared with me, he never asked for payment. I always initiated any discussions of money and would have to ask how much I owed him. Whatever amount he named was about 1/100th of what his time and expertise was really worth.

Jerry was kind, generous, hard-working, honest, dependable, quick-witted, and, boy, did he love his dog, Shadow. Jerry's death hasn't really sunk in yet, so I'll be saying my goodbyes to him for a while. I still can't believe that I'll never again pick up the phone to dial his number and say, "Helllooo, Jerry."

My grief at the loss of his friendship is immense. I am grateful to God for the blessing of knowing Jerry. Although my belief in heaven includes no specifics other than our being present with God, in Jerry's case, I feel certain that God will arrange for strong winds and clear skies to welcome him.
- posted by Sarah N