Gerald E. "Jerry" Crocker

Gerald "Jerry" Crocker, a man who could out-skate you at 74 and make you laugh even when you didn't want to, passed away on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at the age of 82 in Huntsville, Alabama.
Born in Weymouth, MA and raised in Braintree, Jerry was the son of Evelyn Lillian (Benson) Crocker and Francis Gerald Crocker. He graduated from Braintree High School in the class of 1960, then headed to Northeastern University on a hockey scholarship where he earned a degree in civil engineering. He'd later go on to collect more degrees - an MS in System engineering, an MBA, and even an ScD because apparently, one wasn't enough. After college, he was also drafted to the AHL and briefly played for the Philadelphia Phantoms.
Jerry met the love of his life, Donna Lee (Larue) Crocker, at a Bridgewater College dance and married her in 1968. Together, during their 57 years of marriage, they raised two daughters, Holly Michelle (Crocker) Caliri and Heather Dawn Crocker. Holly later married Matthew Caliri. He was also adored by his two grandchildren, who lovingly referred to him as Grampie (or Colonel Grampie Crocker Sir), Tessa Elizabeth Caliri and Brenna Larue Caliri.
He served in the U.S. Army, living around the world, and eventually retiring as a Colonel. He finished off his military career as a Technical Director of Ballistic Target Missile Systems. After his "retirement" he promptly unretired and worked another 16 years at Teledyne Brown Engineering in missile defense and logistics.
Jerry was a hockey guy to the core. He played in a city recreation league until the age of 74 and could still lace up his skates faster than most people could tie their shoes. He loved sci-fi novels and the likes of Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler. Until he upgraded to a Kindle, he carried a paperback in his back pocket wherever he went.
At home, Jerry and Donna created a family tradition, Marbles. Their homemade wooden marbles boards brought countless hours of competition, trash talk and laughter across 3 generations and counting.
That same spirit of playfulness carried to other parts of their life together. Every time Donna found a stray animal to take care of, we'd ask what the animal's name would be. Jerry said "gone". Despite that, each animal stayed and Jerry grew to love them more than anyone.
Jerry's sarcasm was his signature move. He had a whole collection of t-shirts with jokes about math, science, and the general nonsense of everyday life. He loved a good jab, but it always came with a smile. If he teased you, it meant he liked you and you'd probably end up laughing whether you wanted to or not.
We are planning a celebration of Jerry's life, he never would have wanted tears, hopefully held at the Huntsville Municipal Ice Plex in a couple of months. The date is forthcoming, but you should know this much: the preferred dress code is funny t-shirts or hockey jerseys, because that's what Jerry would've wanted, but come in whatever makes you most comfortable. Contact Donna, Holly, or Heather if you would like to join in the celebration.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to one of the causes Jerry cared about most. Operation Homefront - https://operationhomefront.org/ ASPCA - https://www.ASPCA.org/ American Heart Association - https://www.heart.org/ USA Hockey Foundation - https://www.usahockeyfoundation.com/donatenow