Obituary of jerome francis york

Jerome Francis York, 78, of Pensacola, Florida passed away unexpectedly on May 15th while recovering from surgery. Jerome (Jerry to family and friends) was born and raised in North Vernon, Indiana to Harold and Lola York. He was the oldest of 10 brothers and sisters growing up in a modest home on 7th Street in an area known as Irish Hill. As the oldest son, Jerry was focused on school and an avid reader from an early age, though he did enjoy fishing and hunting with his father and brother Patrick. Following High School, he briefly entertained the priesthood and briefly attended seminary before deciding to join the Army at the age of 17. While he scored high for marksmanship, he chose an assignment with Army Intelligence over the infantry and served a tour in the Philippines gathering information for the military ahead of the Vietnam War. Coming home from the Philippines as that conflict erupted, he started at IT Thompson making automotive parts. He married his first wife Ruth Jones (Hansen) in 1965, started a family, and began pursuing a Bachelor of Science degree in the evenings from Indiana University under the GI Bill. He started his 38-year career at Cummins in Columbus, IN in the fuel systems plant, joined the apprenticeship program to become an electronics technician supporting engine test cells and was elected union vice president before moving into management. In his last few years at Cummins, he developed an apprentice program and developed a companywide management training and hiring strategy. He received several awards while at Cummins including an International Award for Training Excellence. Jerry divorced in 1972 and went on to marry Bobbi Gray in 1989. He pursued his MBA from Ball State University in his 50’s and began teaching classes at IUPUC. Retiring from Cummins, he started a new stage of his life in Pensacola where he and his wife Bobbi built two homes and made many new friends. Jerry began teaching at UWF shortly after his retirement from Cummins and was presented with an Adjunct Faculty Excellence Award in 2019. His courses included Introduction to Management, Organizational Development, Human Resources Management, and Negotiations- a course he developed for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students. He taught classes at UWF through this year. While his death was unexpected, he lived longer than his father or grandfather by over a decade, and sometimes remarked about being on “bonus time”. His family and friends all hoped that time would stretch just a little bit longer. Jerry leaves behind a life well lived and an amazing extended family that gave him great pride and support over the years. He was preceded in passing by his father Harold York, mother Lola York, and sisters Jill (Mike Schaum) and Rosie (Paul Kelley) Jerry is survived by his wife Bobbi Gray, sons Chris (Lori) and Geoff (Rachel) York, daughter Megan (Jamie Barnes), grandchildren Andrew and Sarah York and Wyatt Barnes, sisters Jane (Dan Struck), Peggy York, Ann (Gary Green), and Cindy (Steve Green) and brothers Patrick (Cindy), Dave (Karen) and Tom York (Rhonda).. At his request, no funeral will be held, and the immediate family will gather for a private occasion in his memory at a later date. A mass in his honor will be held at Saint Mary’s Catholic Church in North Vernon, IN. In lieu of flowers, the family has asked for donations to be made in Jerry York’s memory to the University of West Florida, College of Business. Donations can be made at uwf.edu/give or a check can be mailed to: UWF Foundation, 11000 University Parkway, Pensacola, FL 32514. Please put Jerry York Memorial Gift on memo line.