March 24, 1937 – April 15, 2019
Survived by wife Miriam Laursen, daughters Karen La Loggia from Knoxville, Susan Evans from Spokane, Nancy Laursen from Ventura, Julie Pinney from Boston, and sister Sharon Bockhacker from Lancaster, CA, twelve grandchildren and one great grandson.
Jerry was born in Racine, Wisconsin and moved to California at a young age. He graduated from UCLA with a B.S. in Chemistry and worked as a research chemist for five years. In his 20’s he also used to drag race!
He met wife Miriam at Multnomah School of the Bible, and they married in 1967. During and after Multnomah Jerry pastored at a small church in Portland, OR, Glendoveer Community Chapel for five years, during which time he also completed his studies at Western Seminary. On to Dallas Theological Seminary for his PhD in New Testament Greek, and then to Costa Rica with his growing family for language school.
They served in Guatemala with CAM International, now Camino Global, for twenty years. Jerry taught in Spanish at the Central American Theological Seminary: Greek, New Testament, and Evangelism. He was known for putting aside one afternoon a week to take a student or a daughter to evangelize door to door, in the shoe factory, the hospital, or a public park. So many remember Jerry’s sense of humor, always having a clean joke to share. He was also known as the photographer for the Seminary, always wearing his camera.
In 1994 Jerry and Miriam moved to Chicago where they started a Hispanic church plant, Capilla Biblica Woodside in Maywood, IL. During these twelve years in Chicago Jerry also taught as an adjunct for Moody Bible Institute, and two classes a semester at the Hispanic Bible Institute.
In 2006 they moved to Spokane to be near one of their daughters, where Jerry continued on with the mission working with Global Media Outreach, counseling and answering Bible questions online for Spanish speakers all over the world, especially seekers and new believers. During this time Jerry also put all of his commentaries, sermon notes, study materials, and creationism seminar online on ObreroFiel.com, so anyone can access his lifetime teachings online for free. When he wasn’t working you might find Jerry enjoying a crossword puzzle or making a family calendar on Shutterfly.
He loved his God, his work, and his family. After nine years of valiant struggle, Jerry lost his battle with cancer and went home to be with his Savior.
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