The family will receive guests on Wednesday, May 29, 2019 from 5pm to 7pm in the Memorial Park Funeral Home, 6969 E. Interstate 40. A celebration of Jerry’s life will be held on Thursday, May 30, 2019 at 10am at St. Stephens United Methodist Church, 4600 S. Western in Amarillo with Jim Smith presiding. Burial will be private.
Jerry was born on December 9th, 1936 in Amarillo, Texas, the son of Loraine and BW Van Noy. He grew up in Amarillo and attended Amarillo High School where he graduated with the class of 1955. These, of course, are the bare statistics about the man, and not the measure of who he was to the family that loved him so. Jerry served his country as a decorated Veteran of the U.S. Army from 11/23/1959 until 2/15/1963 and received the Good Conduct Medal. This service, he seldom (if ever) mentioned, because service wasn’t just that which he felt he owed his country, it was the consistent theme of his life. He served as a good father and grandfather and as a model of kindness and gentleness to anyone who knew him. He strove in his life to model the “good neighbor” of scripture, and to love those around him as Christ had loved him. Yet, he always saw himself and referred to himself in the humblest of terms. He loved to serve at his church – St. Stephen Methodist – and he was a part of the Celebrate Recovery program. As a faithful servant of the risen Jesus Christ, he loved to serve prisoners in the Kairos Prison Ministry. He loved to serve his wife Judy, whom he always called “my Darlin’,” and he was always there for anyone who needed him, ever ready with an understanding smile and a pleasant word of encouragement.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents Loraine and BW Van Noy. Those left to cherish his memory are his loving wife Judy, his sister Judy and husband David Strait, his daughter Dana Van Noy, his son Doug Van Noy and his wife Dawn, his daughter Danielle and husband Michael Bunker, daughter Lori and husband Frank Francis, and son Bret and wife Alicia Avery; along with fifteen grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, many nieces and nephews, and plenty of loving friends. More than this, he is survived by a legacy of loving care and a willing servant’s heart, apt to help and to give, and he is survived by the memory of having touched and improved the lives of everyone who knew him.
