Gerard Jerry A. Unrein III

Gerard “Jerry” A. Unrein III, USAF MAJ (Retired), 9/3/1949 – 10/4/2010

Survived by wife Judy

Son: Michael Unrein, Bellevue, NE

Daughter Sara Unrein, Durham, NC

Parents: Lt, Col. Gerard A. & Alyce Unrein,

Sisters: Alyce Unrein, Kathy Adams & husband Mark

Niece Riley Adams Nephew Koby Adams

all of Littleton, CO

Visitation: 10/9/2010, Sat 12:00 to 2:00 PM with a Memorial service to follow at 2:00 PM all at the Kahler-Dolce Mortuary, Papillion, NE

Private Interment

Memorials to the American Cancer Society

Gerard “Jerry” A. Unrein III was born on September 9, 1949 at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs, Colorado. His parents were Gerard A. and Alyce Unrein. Since his father was a career Army officer, Jerry lived in several places: Japan, Chicago, Illinois, Germany, San Antonio, Texas and finally they settled in Littleton, Colorado when Jerry was in junior high. Jerry had two younger sisters, Alyce and Kathy. Jerry loved to tease them.

As a younger child, Jerry liked to read comic books. He had a great collection of them, but at some point during college, his parents decided to clean out his room and they got rid of them all. He always said they were probably worth a lot of money…

Jerry graduated from Arapahoe High School, Littleton, Colorado in 1967. Jerry was a member of the school swim team. His senior year, the swim team beat the team that had taken state for the previous five years. That particular swim meet was one of the highlights of his high school years.

Jerry attended college at the University of Colorado in Boulder. He remained a loyal Buff’s fan until the end, even though the rest of his family became loyal Husker fans. Jerry majored in Mathematics, earning his BA and graduating in 1971.

During the summer between graduation and entering Air Force Officer Training School, Jerry met Judy Jo Hodgkin. Although they had both attended the same high school (the year he was a senior, she was a lowly sophomore), they had never met during that time. Jerry’s best friend – who was working with Judy that summer, introduced them. Jerry and Judy went out a few times before he left for OTS and, once he got there, Jerry started writing to Judy. Between letters and dates whenever he made it home, the romance flourished and they became engaged the summer of ‘72. Judy insisted that she had to graduate from college before they could get married.

On September 7, 1973 Jerry and Judy exchanged wedding vows at the 1st Methodist Church of Littleton in Colorado. Jerry took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Judy and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy. After several years of marriage, Jerry and Judy expanded their family. Jerry was blessed with two wonderful children: son Michael, born in 1980 and daughter Sara, born in 1982. Both Jerry and Judy always wondered what they did to be blessed with such wonderful children.

Jerry loved being in the Air Force. He loved the places it took him. He loved being a navigator, first on C-130 cargo planes while he was stationed in Taiwan in 1972-73. There he saw much of Southeast Asia, including South Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and even North Vietnam. He actually flew into North Vietnam twice, one of the times to Hanoi – flying a peace-keeping group into the North Vietnamese capitol. He next became a navigator on the KC-135 tankers, stationed at McConnell AFB in Wichita, Kansas. Then in 1978, the Air Force decided to train Jerry to be a computer programmer and he was transferred to Offutt Air Force Base in Bellevue, Nebraska. He then spent five years at SAC Headquarters in the War Plans Division. During this time Jerry also earned his MA in Personnel Management. He then went to Peterson AFB and Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado Springs. Jerry then came back to Offutt to fly again as a navigator on the RC-135. That job took him back to the travelling he loved to do: England, Greece, Okinawa, Alaska and lastly Saudi Arabia. In addition to being able to explore, Jerry loved to send postcards for the places he was able to visit back home to his family. He also took time to shop and always returned home with interesting presents from his travels for Judy, the kids, and other family members also. Jerry retired from the Air Force in the spring of 1991. After the Air Force Jerry went back to school and earned an Associate’s Degree in Computer Science. He then went to work teaching computer programming for the next several years.

Jerry spent a lot of time volunteering with kids. Jerry helped coach soccer for both Michael and Sara’s teams. He served as a Cub Scout Leader and a Boy Scout Troop treasurer. He played Santa at the Squadron Christmas party for several years, and organized the kid’s games at the squadron summer picnic. He helped judge OM (Odyssey of the Mind) tournaments for several years and he ran the Graduate Straight program for Papillion LaVista High School for three years.

Jerry loved Disney movies and the Disney theme parks. Jerry and Judy honeymooned at Disney World, and made two trips to Disneyland before the kids were born. After Michael and Sara came along, there were four more trips to Disney World and one trip to Disneyland. Jerry also loved Hawaii, especially later in life, vacationing there five times since 2000. His favorite island was Maui.

Jerry passed away on October 4, 2010 at Bellevue Medical Center, Bellevue Nebraska. Jerry fought melanoma for 4 ½ years, always staying positive and upbeat. He is survived by wife Judy, son Michael, daughter Sara, parents Gerard and Alyce Unrein, sisters Alyce Unrein and Kathy Adams, and Kathy’s husband Mark and children, Riley and Koby. Services were held at Kahler-Dolce Mortuary.