Gerald Fielding "Jerry" Kilbride

KILBRIDE, Gerald "Jerry" Fielding - Died peacefully on November 3rd, after a courageous battle with cancer. Jerry was born in Denver, CO on February 25, 1930, the second son of Thomas G. and Julia Kilbride. The family moved to Chicago, IL where Jerry spent his early years. He was attracted to literature and the arts at an early age and studied at the Chicago and Kansas City Art Institutes, as well as, the University of Mexico City. He was quite proud of his U.S. Army service during the Korean War. His later writings incorporated memories of his military days. Jerry was able to spend a great deal of time traveling around the world and it was not uncommon for him to be overseas for six months at a time. During these trips he made many friends and remained in contact with them over the years. He was employed in the restaurant and bartending industry in Chicago, Los Angeles, Honolulu and San Francisco. During the 1960s he was head bartender at the "Top of the Rock" and The John Hancock Tower, in Chicago. After relocating to San Francisco, he served as a bartender at the Olympic Club. He enjoyed writing articles for the club's monthly magazine. During his time there, he was active in the bartenders and hotel workers union, AFL-CIO local 2. At his retirement, the Olympic Club honored Jerry by making him a member. Jerry held a long time interest in Japanese Haiku poetry. His poems were widely published and he received many honors and awards from his fellow poets. After Jerry retired from the club in 1995 he moved to Sacramento, CA and was employed by the California State Library. He worked there five years where he specialized in Haiku poetry and U.S. Veteran's history. He was a prostate cancer survivor and was active in the cancer support field. In 2000 he was invited to join a group of cancer survivors who would climb Mt. Fuji to publicize the need for additional breast cancer research funding. At age 70, he was the oldest member of the group to reach the summit. He is survived by his longtime companion, Harun Latif; his sister, Marian Stone of Walnut, IL and his brother and sister-in-law, Tom and Esther Kilbride of Overland Park, KS; also surviving are many loving nieces and nephews and a number of other family members. A celebration of his life will take place on Saturday, Dec. 10th at the Swedenborgian Church, 2107 Lyon Street, at the corner of Washington Street in San Francisco. Anyone who knew him will never forget him.