Gerald D. Theede's Obituary
Gerald Duane Theede, passed away peacefully on February 8, 2024. He was preceded in death by his wife, Sara, his parents, Donna and Adolph, and his sisters, Lorraine and Patricia, and his brother John. Jerry is survived by his sister, Audrey (92) and his children and grandchildren.
Jerry, as he was called by his friends, was born on September 24, 1936, at his family farm, near Hankinson, North Dakota. His mother nicknamed him “Butch” because he was a “premie” being warmed in a basket near the stove, and she wanted to toughen him up so he would survive and flourish. It must have worked well as he was 87 when he died and for most of his life, he was rarely sick. Jerry remained in North Dakota working on his uncle’s farm until he was 24. He always said he did not see a future for himself there since he did not have a farm of his own, so his friends took him to the train station one night and he showed up unexpectedly at his sister, Lorraine’s, apartment in California.
Within 3 days, he was hired at Cutter Laboratories to work with the animals at the plant, and 39 years later, he retired from Bayer, who had purchased Cutter many years before, as a Maintenance Mechanic. Jerry remained close to many of his work friends until they passed on before him over the years. Jerry met his wife, Sara, at Cutter. Sara worked in the lab above the barn and Jerry took her the blood he drew from the animals each day. They were married 3 months after they met and remained married for 47 years. They lived in their home in Pinole, CA for 34 years where they raised their two children, Cindy (54) and Ken (51) and had many good friends.
Jerry and Sara retired back to North Dakota, a couple of hours north of his hometown, in Cummings, across the street from his sister Pat, in 2000. They enjoyed many years with friends and family in the Hillsboro community and at the local Vets club. They adopted two dachshunds, Maggie and Fritz, who kept them both company until Sara passed away in 2013, Maggie dying soon after Sara.
After Fritz passed away at 16 years, Jerry was lonely living alone so in 2019 decided to move in with Ken, his wife Susan, and their sons Evan (14) and Mason (12), in Escondido, CA where he rarely missed a kid’s sports game or a friend’s barbecue. After COVID, each summer he traveled to Maryland to spend some time with Cindy, her husband, Jude and their daughter Marleigh (17) where they played cards on the deck on the warm summer evenings.
Jerry’s quick wit and sense of humor, his charm with everyone he met, will be missed.
The family prefers donations to be made to the American Macular Degeneration Foundation, nei.nih.gov
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