Gerald E. Morrow

1921 - 2009

Gerald E. Morrow 1921 - 2009 Gerald E. Morrow, "Jerry" to his friends and colleagues died early on September 19, 2009, in Memorial Hospital in Bakersfield after a brief illness. A loving husband, father, grandfather and friend, he will be missed and remembered for his kindness and grace. Jerry was born in Fresno, California, on January 5, 1921 and was raised there, graduating from Roosevelt High School in 1940, and helping out in his father's blacksmith shop, H.E. Morrow Spring Works. He enrolled in Fresno State College but his tenure there was cut short by the onset of World War II. In July 1942 he joined the United States Army where he served in the Army Air Force as a heavy equipment operator and served in the European Theater of Operations including England, France and Germany. He spoke frequently of his work as a mechanic and towing troop carrying gliders during the war. While stationed in England, he met the love of his life, Anne Allen Parkinson, whom he married in Lytham, England in 1944. She predeceased him in 2003 after 58 years of marriage. Upon discharge from the Army in 1945, he returned to his hometown of Fresno, where he completed a technical education in electronics using the GI Bill and began a long and productive career with the Pacific Gas & Electric Company. He began as a transformer repairman and progressed to a Communication Technician. He and his family resided in several communities in and around the San Joaquin valley, Fresno, Lemoore, Santa Maria and Merced before finally settling in Bakersfield in 1957. He spent 37 years with PG&E retiring in 1982. He, his wife and family enjoyed recreational camping, usually in the Lake Tahoe area, but also camped at Lake Mead, Yosemite and Sequoia and other areas of the California and Nevada states that they loved so much. He and Anne visited Las Vegas often and after her death he continued to travel there frequently. Jerry was proud of being a Mason and member of the Order of Scottish Rites. He is survived by his daughter, Gail Carlisle and her husband Jay of Evansville, Indiana; and his son, Terry and his wife Elaine of Lorton, VA, along with their two sons (his two grandchildren), Geoff Morrow, United States Navy, stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA and Jason Morrow of Lorton, VA. He was predeceased by his two sisters, Dorothy Williams of Sacramento, CA, and Maxine Nollenberger of Pollock Pines, CA. A memorial service will be held at his last residence, Carriage House Estates Retirement Home, at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, October 2nd. He will be interred at Hillcrest Memorial Park later that day. A special thanks to his long time family friend Carol Ripley who looked out for him in his later years.