Jerry Gene Eskew

With sadness, and yet with joy in knowing his new dwelling is Heaven, we share that the hero of our family, Jerry Gene Eskew, sweetheart, dad, grandfather, and great grandfather, passed into the presence of his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, Tuesday, September 23. Our entire family surrounded his bed expressing to him our love, our deep gratitude for his loving care for each of us, and our promise to reunite with him in Heaven when that time comes.

Jerry was one of six siblings in his family, the son of William J. Eskew and Rosa Callaway Eskew. Surely that spring morning in Baca County, Colorado, April 8, 1937, Jerry brought the sunshine of the season, a characteristic of his life from that day forward. His childhood was a happy, memorable childhood with siblings who dearly loved each other and who, until their own deaths, enjoyed celebrating important days and events together. Their mother was a cook, second to none, and with several good cooks among the spouses they married, every event was enjoyed with a big,

long table, loaded with the best food you ever tasted, desserts galore, and more importantly laughter, love, gratitude, hugs, and hours of good times together. Every child, grandchild and some great grandchildren thrived in the nurture of this amazing family, before both parents, Bill and Rosie, passed from earth to life everlasting in Heaven. He is preceded in death by four of his siblings, William (Bill), Norma, Pansy, Lela Mae, with his best friend and dearly loved brother, Gerald (Donna), of Oklahoma City, surviving.

Jerry attended a one-room country school near their home for his elementary years. His dad hooked a wagon to a little Ford tractor, the kids piled on, and with one of them driving the tractor, they were off to school. We could tell you so many funny stories Dad and our aunts and uncles related through the years of escapades they experienced on their "school bus" rides, especially through snow blanketing their route. No one died--thank goodness--·and even their mother survived their innovative ways of handling situations between their house and the school down the road and across Hwy. 287, far less busy in those days.

Graduating from Springfield (CO) High School, Jerry then graduated from Draughon's Business College in Amarillo in Accounting, subsequently becoming a civilian cost accountant at the SAC base in Amarillo, eventually transferring to Whidbey Island, WA, naval air base in the same position. After spending some time in the Pacific Northwest, he moved to Oklahoma City where he earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from SNU, subsequently teaching band and choir for a number of years in southeast Colorado and southwest Kansas. He later earned a Master's in Computers from

Lesley College, Cambridge, Mass, at their Colorado Springs satellite campus. His interesting career path included Accountant with Garvey Elevators, Inc., teaching band and choir in public schools in Campo and Walsh, CO, and Computers at Johnson High School, Johnson KS, and Central Christian, Hutchinson, KS. He served as Minister of Music in Amarillo, Walsh, and was a soloist in every church he attended. He and Ruth owned and operated the ranch and ag operation which had been in her family for generations, The last 10 years of his career, he was Director of IT at Southwest Medical

Center, Liberal, KS. Following their retirement from SWMC, they moved to Kingsland, TX, to care for Ruth's parents for nearly 10 years, enabling them to remain in their own home until their passing in 2011.

He met his wife, our mother, Ruth Smith Eskew, while both attended SNU, and though they met there, they discovered they had lived only 65 miles apart, Elkhart, KS and Springfield, Co, all their lives and were even both present at some area events, lost in the crowd and unknown to each other. They married at the beginning of their senior year at SNU and were blessed by more than 62 years of marriage.

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They are the parents of three children: Kent, who passed in 2020; Brent (Erin) of Windsor, CO, and Jindy, Kingsland, TX; grandson Braden Eskew; granddaughters Shae (Jose) Martinez, Jordan Eskew (Christian Scandrett), Taylor Eskew and Jessica Tuman. Grandson Derrick McBee preceded him in death. His life was blessed by the arrival of two great grandsons in the last two years, Mateo and Maddox. Also surviving are eleven treasured nieces and nephews and a number of great nieces and nephews.

Jerry's life was a life of faith, having received Christ's call as a child and having been nurtured in the faith by his devoted Christians parents. It was at an early age, everyone around him recognized he had a gift of music with his beautiful tenor voice. When he married Ruth, he gained a talented, personal accompanist. and their life of service to the Lord began. They provided music for churches they attended in various cities, sang at hundreds of weddings, funerals, business organization dinners, graduations, and Christian events across a wide area.

Our dad loved! He loved everyone he met and our home was an open house to people from all sectors of life. He will always be remembered for his bright smile and the personal warmth he extended to everyone. As a husband, a dad, a grandfather, our family would tell you, we had the best. He loved us dearly, spent time with us, took us to places he wanted us to experience, always patient and kind every day of his life.

Jerry's faced his declining health issues bravely. Now our dad--and mother's lifetime love-of-her-life, based on God's Word is well and whole, thriving in his heavenly home, reunited with his family, thousands of friends from throughout his long life, and the fullness of joy at being in the presence of Jesus.

A memorial service is being planned for Saturday, Oct. 18, 1:30 p.m., Chapel of the Hills, 19135 Texas Highway 29, Buchanan Dam, TX. Our family would be honored by your presence when we celebrate this worthy man