Jerry Buice

1942 - 2021

Captain Ulus Gerald "Jerry" Buice passed away quietly at home surrounded by family on March 25th, 2021 after a decades-long battle with skin cancer. Born November 19th 1942, Jerry was a lifelong aviator, inventor and outdoorsman. He grew up in Miami, attended Coral Gables High School and the University of Florida. He flew his first solo flight at age 16 from Tamiami field. By age 20 he earned a commercial license with multi-engine, flight instructor and commercial ratings and was hired by United Airlines. Across four decades with United, the last two decades as Captain, Jerry flew nearly 10 million miles in a variety of aircraft including the DC-6, Vickers Viscount, DC-8, 737 and 727. He completed his commercial career on the 747 flying over the Pacific. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Delta Air Lines Captain Noble "Tex" Buice as an ardent defender of pilot working conditions (safe crew scheduling in particular) and passenger safety through over 30 years of support for the Air Line Pilots Association. Jerry taught himself to code and independently developed effective crew scheduling software before computer science was popular. In parallel with his commercial flight career, Jerry was proud to own, maintain and fly several small private aircraft throughout his life including J-3 and PA-12 Piper Cubs, a Stinson, Piper Aztec, 1935 Bucher Jungmann and Diamond Katana Motor Glider. His lifetime of passion for flight is recognized with his inclusion on the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's Wall of Honor. Jerry loved anything that moved fast including go-carts, motorcycles, boats and sports cars. He invested his free time outdoors with family and friends enjoying fishing, camping, scouting, biking, boating, jogging, walking on the beach or hiking through the mountains on multiple continents. He naturally loved to travel and felt blessed to visit more than 20 countries. His favorite destinations in the world included Wengen, Switzerland and Sanibel/Captiva, Florida. He also loved coming home from every adventure to the same neighborhood in Boulder, CO for more than 50 years. Jerry was an avid inventor and tinkerer in his shop, whether rebuilding an engine from the rings up or inventing a novel hinge mechanism, an innovative bread slicer, a pneumatic baseball pitching machine or a wind tunnel to explore wing aerodynamics. Jerry is survived by his former wife Joanne Buice, sons Carl Buice and Erik Buice and their families including four grandchildren he loved dearly. In addition, he is survived by his adoring sisters Bebe Johnson, Chrisy Woods and their families. Memorial services will be planned at a future time due to COVID-19. In lieu of flowers or donations to charity, please consider honoring his memory by protecting yourself consistently with sunscreen.