Jonathan Gettier Obituary
Obituary published on Legacy.com by Kent & Pelczar Funeral Home & Crematory on Apr. 12, 2025.
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Durham – Jonathan M. Gettier, 50, of Durham, NH and formerly of Newburyport and Amherst, MA, died unexpectedly April 10, 2025 at his home from natural causes.
Born July 9, 1974 in Northampton, MA, he was the son of Lucia M. (Mingela) Gettier and the late Edmund L. Gettier III of Shutesbury, MA.
Jonathan was a 1992 graduate of Amherst Pelham Regional High School. While in high school, he spent a semester living in Cologne, Germany immersing himself in the language while studying at the local high school. He later received a BA in Fine Art and Photography from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst in 1997. During his time at UMass, he attended trips through the UMass Photography Department to Mexico and throughout Europe for the purpose of exploring art and working on photography projects. He spent a year at Western Washington University in Bellingham, WA and also spent time at Maine Media Photography School in Rockport, ME studying photography during his undergraduate years. Following his schooling, Jonathan proudly served in the US Marine Corps. In doing so, he was sent to the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey, CA where he studied Arabic and Spanish.
Post military life, Jonathan discovered his love of cars. Through education and training he became a BMW Master Technician taking him from Springfield, Pittsfield, and Peabody, MA to Scottsdale, AZ, Denver, CO, and Stratham, NH. In between these positions he worked as a ski lift Maintenance Mechanic in Aspen, CO for two years, climbing to incredibly high heights for some spectacular views while he worked. He also taught snowboarding while there and got to take part in a lot of snowboarding himself which he loved to do while enjoying mountain life.
After meeting his beloved wife Ally in 2015, Jonathan and Ally married in 2016 and moved to Shanghai, China. He attended the American TESOL Institute/Shanghai Jiao Tong University for his TESOL certification and taught English as a second language to Chinese children while in Shanghai. They later moved back to Massachusetts where he returned to his work as a Master Technician. Jonathan and his wife Ally loved each other dearly and truly complimented each other. They enjoyed traveling together, exploring New England and visiting places including The Philippines, Thailand, Japan and various spots in China, with plans for so much more.
Jonathan was a talented photographer, painter and ceramicist. Over the years he also enjoyed the outdoors, snowboarding, mountain biking, car racing and agility target shooting. He loved animals, good friends, his home in NH and the peaceful woods around him. He had a high intellect and enjoyed in-depth analytic discussion while having an incredible ability to see how parts become a whole such as in his art, working with cars and in building a computer. Jonathan also had a great, mischievous sense of humor while having a sensitive side to him as well, caring deeply for others. His infectious smile and laugh, along with his good, kind heart will be sorely missed by family and friends alike.
He was predeceased by his father Edmund L. Gettier III and his brother, Evan L. Gettier.
Survivors include his wife, Li (Ally) Lin of Durham, NH; his mother, Lucia M. Gettier of Shutesbury, MA; his siblings, Daina Carvel and her husband, Greg of Amherst, MA, David Gettier and his wife, Maria of Austin, TX, Sheila Plungis and her husband Thomas of Peru, NY, Edmund (Skip) L. Gettier IV of Port St. Lucie, FL, and Elizabeth (Lisa) Jacque and her husband Alan of Williamsport, MD; and many nieces and nephews.
A memorial service will be held on May 31st at 1PM at the Top of the Campus Center/UMass Hotel on the Umass, Amherst campus. Parking is available in the parking garage at 91 Campus Way, Amherst, MA 01003. The campus center can be accessed directly through the parking garage on the 2nd floor. hotelumass.com