Geraldine Smith "Jerry" Priest

1929 - 2024

Geraldine "Jerry" Smith Priest
09/26/1929 - 04/19/2024
Geraldine Smith Priest, "Jerry," was born on the 26th of September, 1929, to Katherine Howard and David Ray Smith in San Angelo, Texas, and died peacefully on Friday, the 19th of April, 2024, in Houston, her home for 83 years.
Jerry attended Lanier Junior High School and Lamar High School. At Lamar, she was elected president of the National Honor Society and was admitted to Arrowhead, Lamar's highest academic honor. She was chosen by her class as one of its two most beautiful seniors and was elected to the May Fete court. In a school newspaper article, Jerry was quoted as saying that she "loved spaghetti, meatballs, ice cream, swimming, golf and Gordon Jenkins' arrangement of Temptation." She was also active in her social club, Palamar, and in Student Council activities.
Jerry entered Rice Institute (now University) in 1947. She lived at home, just blocks from the Rice campus, and loved her new friends. She was asked to join the Elizabeth Baldwin Literary Society (EBs) and was elected freshman class duchess in the Rice May Fete, Rondolet. She studied history and English literature, but dropped out of physics after three weeks, saying, "I realized I had not understood one thing that had been said in class." Those three weeks dashed her hopes of becoming an architect, but she continued to love design and drew countless unbuilt structures throughout her adulthood.
Jerry left Rice after her sophomore year to marry Denton C. Priest in the fall of 1949. Denton had also grown up in Houston and had been a star pitcher on the University of Houston baseball team, the first of a long line of outstanding baseball and softball pitchers in the family. He served in the U.S. Marines at the end of World War II and turned down two pro baseball offers to focus on starting a family with Jerry and launching a successful business career.
After working for Eastern Airlines, Jerry had the first of their three children in October 1950. She then became a full-time "1950's mom" to Allyson, Jana and Denton, Jr., driving carpool to The Kinkaid School, shuttling the girls to ballet, piano lessons, Brownies and Girl Scouts, and taking Denton, Jr. to baseball practice and games, often coached by his Dad. Little League was central to the family, as were their kittens, dogs and occasional hamster. Jerry also stressed the importance of unstructured time to allow the children to entertain themselves and recharge. Many happy summers were spent at their house on Galveston Bay, where they cleaned the crabs they had caught at the end of their long pier and sailed in their Sunfish. Jerry and Denton blessed their children with an idyllic childhood.
Once all three children were in school, Jerry returned to Rice to complete her history degree. Upon her graduation in 1966, she celebrated with family and friends, many of whom were long-time bridge partners. After graduation, Jerry became active with the Houston Symphony Society. She had always loved music and enjoyed playing classical piano until her eighties. She especially wished to encourage young, aspiring classical musicians, and in 1976 founded the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition with the enthusiastic support of the Houston Symphony, which featured the winners in a symphony performance. Jerry chaired the competition for eleven years, and it continues today.
She was a founding member of the Shepherd Society, founded in 1975 to support the new Shepherd School of Music at Rice University. The School quickly established itself, thanks to the excellence of its talented faculty and students, but was in urgent need of its own building. Jerry worked with Dean Michael Hammond and many others, including her son-in-law Stephen Cook, to raise the required money for the new building, designed by the noted Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill. The Shepherd School is now one of the leading performance-oriented music schools in the country and is recognized globally.
Jerry grew up playing Scrabble with her father, which became a family tradition. Her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren all love the game. Some had the opportunity to play with Jerry's mother, who they affectionately called "Great Granny Scrabble." She passed down a handwritten list of permitted two letter words. A large Scrabble trophy was circulated to the interim "family champion."
Jerry's mother's house in rural New Hampshire became a new gathering place for Scrabble games, viewing autumn leaves and cross-country skiing in the winter. Jerry spent many summers with her mother "over the river and through the woods." The property was up a small road from her sister's family property, which allowed for many happy times with her Boston relatives.
Jerry loved history and writing. She read voraciously about the ancient world, 18th and 19th century Europe, and the founders of our country. In her sixties, Jerry wrote a historical fiction memoir, A Barren Landscape: In Search of An American Culture, 1811 – 1861, focused on the emerging cultural life of the United States.
Despite having been born at the start of the Great Depression and having lived through World War II, Jerry's life had been uncomplicated and happy until her son was afflicted, during his college years, by a devastating and progressive mental illness with no cure. The pain and despair for both Jerry and husband Denton was a challenge they had never faced. Young Denton had been an outstanding athlete and was in Plan II at the University of Texas. He maintained his optimism and welcoming personality, but died at age 54.
In her final years, Jerry never lost her sense of humor and always expressed gratitude for the life she had enjoyed. Her grandchildren and great-grandchildren brought her tremendous joy, which was equally reciprocated. She was especially appreciative when their visits included cookies from Moeller's Bakery, Classic Coney's from James Coney Island and cans of Dr. Pepper, all three of which she viewed as essential to a long life.
Jerry is predeceased by her parents, her husband Denton, her brother Thomas D. Smith, her son Denton, Jr., and her niece, Dr. Kathleen Smith. She is survived by her sister-in-law, Pamela Riley Smith Devine, and by her sister and brother-in-law, Drs. Joan and Leslie Ottinger; by her daughter and son-in-law, Allyson and Stephen Cook; and by her daughter and son-in-law, Jana and Wayne Paris. She is also survived by her grandchildren Steve Cook (Shaela) and Elizabeth Jenkins (Lee), both in Los Angeles; and by David Paris (Joslyn) and Matthew Paris, both in Houston. In addition, she is survived by five "perfect" great-grandchildren: Austin Jenkins, Ainsley Jenkins, Asher Cook, Jack Paris and Evan Paris.
The family gathered for a private interment on Saturday, the 27th of April 2024, at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery, officiated by the Reverend Katie Montgomery-Mears of St. Luke's United Methodist Church. Three of Jerry's great-grandchildren read scripture. Students from the Shepherd School of Music provided music for the service, including the first performance of My Shepherd Lord, a hymn Jerry helped write, based on the 23rd Psalm and set to the music of Jean Sibelius' Finlandia. Bill Merriman, a beloved friend and unofficial family member, read passages from Jerry's book.
In lieu of customary remembrances, memorial contributions may be directed to the Shepherd Society at The Shepherd School of Music, P.O. Box 1892, Houston Texas, 77251-1892.
The family would like to thank the extraordinary and loving staff at The Buckingham, and especially its activities director, Tonia Gonzales, for their encouraging care.
Please visit Jerry's online memorial tribute at GeohLewis.com where words of comfort and condolence may be shared with her family.