Gerald Myers

Gerald K. Myers, 71, of Waukon, died Saturday, December 27, 2014 at St. Mary’s Hospital in Rochester, MN. A sharing time was held Saturday, January 3 at 2 p.m. at Martin Funeral Home in Waukon.
Gerald Kermit Myers was born March 7, 1943 in Cherryvale, KS. He was the son of Glenn and Dorothy Mae (Irvin) Myers. He began a lifelong love of learning at Jensvold School in rural Hudson, SD and graduated from Canton High School in Canton, SD in 1961. He earned both BA and MA degrees from the University of South Dakota in Vermillion.   Although he loved teaching at Zion-Benton High in Zion, IL, he also loved learning himself and began post-graduate study at Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS. He moved to Roanoke, VA to be copy editor for the Roanoke Times for several years before moving to northeast Iowa and the Allamakee School District in 1979 to be closer to his parents. Over the intervening 30 years, he continued taking courses in areas of interest and to keep current with changing educational practices.
Jerry embraced excellence and expected the best effort from himself and his students. Many hours were spent writing comments on every student composition and researching ways to connect students with the literature they studied.
In his own life, although he loved sports, in high school he accepted that his physical disability precluded participation on the field and became a valued student manager and sports writer. He also became an avid college sports and major league baseball fan. All except work stopped during March Madness, the College World Series, and the World Series. Duplicate bridge was another passion developed during his college years. He played regularly in Vermillion, Chicago, Manhattan, Roanoke, and La Crosse. Tournament play was a favorite. He became a Life Master in 1982. Golf was an ongoing challenge. Probably “enthusiastic duffer” was an apt description.
Most people who knew him when they think of Jerry will think books. Reading was a daily activity. Over the years he read and reread thousands of books, purchasing many of them. He read great literature, popular titles, teen lit, children’s books, poetry, history, trivia, escape, serials and trash.
Jerry is survived by his wife, Allene Gillespie of Waukon; his sister, Marilynn Iversen of New Hope, MN and his brothers, Lynn (Vernona) of Iowa City and Robert (Shelby) of Abilene, TX; nieces and nephews; brothers-in-law, Gil (Ardyth), Jeff (Phyllis), and Greg (Julia) Gillespie. He was preceded in death by his parents.
Honorary casketbearers are Frank, and Larry Holsapple, Karen Kalinsky, Glenda Rudolph, Harold Shepherd, and Charles Williams.
Online condolences may be left at www.martinfunerals.com.