Gerard "Jerry" Haines Bosco

Gerard (Jerry) Haines Bosco October 17, 1930 – May 30, 2019 Services & Reception: St. Brigid Catholic Church on June 25, 2019 at 11:00 AM. 4735 Cass St., San Diego, CA 92109. Burial at Miramar National Cemetery the same day at 2:30 PM. 5795 Nobel Dr., San Diego, CA 92122 Gerard Haines Bosco, intellectual, family man, aerospace test engineer and manager of his department, San Diegan, died on 05/30/2019. Jerry had a family garden before it was cool to have a family garden. He and his minions (children: Patricia, John, Carolyn, and Marilyn) spent many a sunny day in the Bosco’s backyard on Chiloquin Court in Sunnyvale. The yard went from child-high weeds and a “rock garden” to a fruitful orchard of apricots, peaches, cherries, apples, plums, guavas, and citrus as well as a garden that added yummy vegetables including vine-ripened tomatoes to the family’s table. Jerry was also the family mechanic who, along with his faithful side-kick: son, John, kept the family’s car purring. He was also known for “puttering” in the garage and fixing anything that dared to not look like it was in first-rate, working condition. There were no mechanical breakdowns for this family, so siree! He was our family plumber, electrician, mechanic, and carpenter. Jerry and his “sweetie” and motorcycle “buddy”, his lifelong wife, Doreene, were world travelers. They visited Japan, Europe, the Caribbean, and many parts of the United States from Florida to California. Jerry was the only person I know of who went out of his way to find a McDonald’s Restaurant wherever he traveled. His brothers owned many of these restaurants in Colorado and he was a loyal customer. Did I mention he was a “penny pincher”? Jerry had a pet philosophy, “Is it a ‘wanna or a gotta’?” This is how he judged whether or not money was spent. He also believed in “knowledge is power” and “don’t put good money after bad money.” As his daughter, I wanted for nothing. Every child had their own bedroom. I had my white and gold French furniture including canopy bed. I had my yellow, 10 speed bike. I had my clarinet and band uniform. I don’t really remember anything I was denied. He did; however, value security. He needed to know his family would never do without. To that end, a trust fund was set up and the Bosco’s family security was assured. In this economy, this is truly a blessing and a smart move! Jerry was an internationally renowned acoustical test engineer and manager who worked for Lockheed for 25 years. He was a mentor to other test engineers and made sure there were “no failures” by “telling them once and then asking again to make sure”. He was instrumental in testing the flight readiness for the Space Shuttle’s tiles that were part of their Thermal Protection System. Jerry also tested the Space Telescope, the Atlas Missile, the 240, 340, 440 and R3Y airplanes, etc. He both traveled to Japan and hosted Japanese engineers at his home in the United States as part of an international engineering exchange. One of these engineers, Kenji Okimoto, became a close friend who has corresponded with him and visited him in San Diego. Jerry loved to keep up with scientific and technological advances in the world. He kept up a subscription to Time magazine and Consumer’s Report throughout most of his adult life and had recently added Discovery magazine to his intellectual pursuits. He enjoyed watching scientific shows on his big screen T.V. that held the “place of honor” front and center in his living room. He also loved watching 60 minutes, Discovery, History, and National Geographic channels and that precluded everything when they came on! Jerry was a “family man” par excellence! During his kids’ formative years, he was well known to get up at 6:00 AM every weekday to go to Lockheed and he returned promptly at 4:30PM every night. There was no “stopping off for a cold one” for Jerry! He enjoyed eating a family dinner to the tune of McHale’s Navy! He also had many questions for his family regarding their day for which he expected a coherent and reasonable answer. He really wanted to know what his kids were interested and involved in! Jerry also taught his kids’ survival skills and the family shared may happy times camping out both in the woods and at the seashore. Jerry was proud of his wife, Doreene, whom he called “Sweetie”. He would brag about her excellent cooking skills. You never saw one without the other nearby. He loved to watch her go… it was a lot like watching “I Love Lucy”! He was especially proud of her mothering skills, which he once said were some of her most attractive traits. She may not have understood that, but his kids sure did! Jerry had a life-long love affair with San Diego. As a teen, Jerry would ride his motorcycle in his leather jacket up and down the California coastline. As a family man, the family would “migrate” to San Diego the last two weeks in August for the yearly family vacation. There are many family 8mm films chronicling this yearly exodus to the San Diego beaches. These were the epitome of the California Dream. No one got out of a swim suit for 2 whole weeks! The family shared time riding the waves on boogie boards, sailing, eating BBQ weenies, and sun tanning before that was no longer such a good idea… who knew! In their retirement, Jerry and Doreene, made their last exodus to San Diego, this time to stay. They moved to a condo on Mission Bay where they enjoyed watching the sunsets from their balcony. They lived their dream, to return to San Diego and to enjoy the relaxed San Diegan lifestyle. Jerry will be remembered fondly by all who knew him. Gerard “Jerry” Bosco, age 88, passed away on May 30, 2019 a short time after being diagnosed with congestive heart failure.