Gerald Paschal Carson, Jr.

Gerald (Gerry) P. Carson, Jr. left us to be with the Lord on the 30th October, 2019. He was born in Savannah, GA on May 11th, 1936 to Pat and Nita Carson. As a child Gerry always had a twinkle in his eye, a ready smile, and an open heart. Active in Boy Scouts at an early age he became the youngest Eagle Scout in the Coastal Empire Council of South Georgia at the age of 14. His youth was filled with gusto, adventure and tenacity and his first job was selling shrimp that he caught with his cast net to locals of Savannah. He enjoyed fishing, boxing, swimming, gymnastics and football throughout his school years. He was a graduate of Savannah High School where he pursued the Engineer/Scientific degree and graduated in the class of 1954.

After High School, Gerry was accepted to Georgia Tech and worked his way through school on a co-op program earning a Bachelors of Science in Building Construction. While in college he was a member of the Kappa Sigma fraternity and Vice President in his senior year where he met met some of his lifelong friends. He was also a member of the “Snappa” scuba diving club. Gerry had saltwater in his veins and became a cave diver and avid spear fisherman. He loved to push the limits of this sport. He also used his gymnastics talent to cheer in college and was chosen to be head Cheerleader of Georgia Tech. After graduating from college in 1960, he was accepted into the Army Aviation Flight school. He became an Army pilot and was sent to Germany in 1961 during the build-up of the Berlin Wall. One of the highlights of his time in Germany was training with the 10th Special Forces Group at Bad Tolz, Germany where he received parachute jump training. He was promoted to Captain in 1964 and was awarded the command of the 10th Combat Engineer Group Aviation Company at the Heidelberg airfield.

He met his wife, Beth in October of that year when she was on a tour of Europe from South Africa. They married in Montreal, Canada in October 1965, and traveled to Alexandria, Virginia where he was stationed at Ft. Belvoir. He was deployed to Vietnam for a year of combat duty and his son, Gerry Patrick was born when he was there. Beth traveled to Tokyo, Japan so he could see his baby boy. While in Vietnam he was awarded the Bronze Star along with several air medals. He resigned his commission in the US Army after 7 years of service and accepted a position with Pan American Airlines as a Pilot/Navigator on Boeing 707 aircraft flying out of San Francisco. After his training they moved to Roseville, California where his daughter, Shannon Elizabeth was born. Pan Am transferred him to flying out of the Miami airport and he moved the family to Key Largo in the Florida Keys where they lived for 3 ½ years.

By 1976 Pan Am was struggling and he was furloughed for 10 years. During that time he worked on the Cape Canaveral Shuttle Program as an engineer. He went to school at night and got an MBA and a Masters in Contracts Management at the Florida Institute of Technology. He worked for Martin Marietta on the Hellfire Missile Program and during that time he also volunteered as a little league football coach and was scoutmaster of Troop 300 for 3 years. He was then recalled to Pan American Airways and flew the Boeing 747 until the company went bankrupt in 1991. His last position before retirement was with Atlas Air, a start-up Cargo airline that he helped get off the ground and then retired as their Chief Engineer in 2000.

After retirement he continued to live in Melbourne until his death. He is survived by his wife, Beth of 54 years; his son, Gerald Patrick Carson and his wife, Laura Lee Carson, their three children, Gregory Lee, Jenna Beth and Matthew James; his daughter, Shannon Elizabeth Hauser, her husband, Michael Frohman Hauser and their two children, Bryce Carson and Natalie Lynn; his sister, Patricia Gignilliat and her husband, Heyward and his niece, Pallas Hupe Cotter and her husband, Steve and their two boys, Cade and Carson.

Just prior to his death he was recognized for his time in Vietnam on the honor flight to Washington, D.C. Gerry treated life like an adventure and a sport and he taught his family not to fear, but to dare.

Organizations:

Member of Northside Presbyterian Church

Sons of the Confederate Veterans

Boy Scouts of America

Kappa Sigma Fraternity at Georgia Tech

Airlines Pilot Association

In lieu of flowers, donations in Gerry's name may be made to any of the above organizations.