Gerald Louis Milden

April 17th, 1948 - October 10th, 2023

Jerry was born in Seattle Washington to Jim and Gloria Milden on April 17th, 1948. Jerry was the middle of three Milden siblings with an older brother Jim and a younger sister Susie. Jerry grew up in Kent Washington. When Jerry was not in school, he was a serious sports fanatic and often passed his time playing baseball at the neighborhood sandlot with his brother Jim and numerous friends. As a young adult Jerry joined the Navy and served in the Vietnam war.

In 1979 Jerry married his best friend and love Delia Hernandez. Jerry and Delia were married for 43 years. Together they had three boys, Anthony, Kristopher and Alex (all of Yakima).

In 2012 Alex was married and we welcomed the most beautiful daughter in law in the world Cassi. Jerry and Delia were also blessed with the most beautiful grandchildren in the world, Emory 13, Mila 11, Donnovan 9, and Maxen 7. Spending time with his family brought Jerry so much joy and laughter.

Never one to sit around, Jerry worked hard all his life whether at home or work. He loved to cook for his family and work in the yard. Jerry was happy to barbecue for family gatherings and was well known for his barbecuing skills at the Davis Baseball concessions. Jerry was also famous for his Italian spaghetti, a recipe he learned from his Italian mother Gloria. He took pride in his work and in every accomplishment. Jerry worked for the Yakima School District for 24 years and retired in 2020.

Jerry was a huge fan of most sports and enjoyed watching his boys play basketball, baseball, boxing, and football. He spent many years coaching his boys in baseball. He also dedicated time to Yakima National Little League and met and forged many friendships through coaching. Jerry volunteered numerous hours painting, cleaning, and doing whatever needed to be done at Pete Orgill field and Parker field. Jerry also drove his son Kris, Coach Charles and the Ringside boxing team to matches all over the state of Washington. He was a loyal and huge fan of the Seattle Mariners and the Seattle Seahawks and was known to bring them more luck when he didn’t watch at times.

One of Jerry’s favorite things to do was host poker night in his home. Poker nights were always accompanied by good food and drinks and the usual guests would feature his boys, Anthony, Kris and Alex followed by nephew Andres, brother-in-law Mike and good friends John Blake and Danny Gottier. Jerry loved a good game night, playing cards with his family, especially his grandkids. He loved to play dominos, Jerry and his brother-in-law Frank Salinas played games on a weekly basis with their beloved grandfather Welo.

Jerry was diagnosed with dementia in 2020 and spent the last 3 years surrounded and being cared for by his beloved wife, sons and daughter in law. He enjoyed a trip to California in 2021, yearly trips to Cannon Beach and many wonderful days and nights with his grandchildren.

At the time of his death Jerry was surrounded by his family.

Thank you to the many family and friends for the outpouring of love for Jerry.

The Milden family would like to thank Dr Gondo, Dr. Brady and Dr Lee for caring for Jerry. Special thanks to the nurses, doctors, and caregivers at Memorial Hospital. Thank you also to the Memorial hospice team.

Services for Jerry are on Friday October 20th, viewing 2:00-3:00 and service to follow at 3:30 at Keith & Keith Funeral Home, 902 West Yakima Ave, Yakima, WA 98902.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.keithandkeith.com for the Milden family.