Geraldine Lois "Jerrie" Mock

Geraldine "Jerrie" Lois Mock

QUINCY, FL: Geraldine "Jerrie" Lois Mock, the first woman to fly solo around the world, died in her sleep on September 30 at her home in Quincy, at the age of 88.

Geraldine Fredritz Mock was born in Newark, Ohio, on November 22, 1925 to Timothy J. Fredritz and Blanche Wright Fredritz. Known as "Jerrie," she graduated from Newark High School in 1943 and attended The Ohio State University in Columbus where she majored in Aeronautical Engineering. She left college to marry Russell Mock in 1945.

At age 38, Jerrie became the first woman to fly solo around the globe. She took off from Port Columbus International Airport in Columbus, Ohio, on March 19, 1964 in her eleven year old, single engine Cessna 180 she named the "Spirit of Columbus." After 29 days and 21 stops, she covered more than 23,000 miles to land back at Port Columbus on April 17, 1964.

Jerrie's achievements were recognized by international aviation organizations. Three weeks after her trek, she was honored in the White House Rose Garden by President Lyndon B. Johnson, who bestowed upon her the FAA Gold Medal for Exceptional Service.

Jerrie also set the around-the-world speed record for her plane's weight class; became the first woman to fly both the Atlantic and Pacific; and became the first woman to cross the Pacific in a single-engine plane in either direction.

Recent central Ohio awards designed to celebrate Jerrie's accomplishments include receiving The Columbus Foundation's first Spirit of Columbus Award, and Jerrie's upcoming induction into the Columbus Hall of Fame. Statues of Jerrie were recently unveiled at The Works Center for History, Art & Technology in Newark, Ohio, and at Port Columbus Airport.

Jerrie is survived by her daughter, Valerie Armentrout of Reynoldsburg, Ohio; sister, Susan Fredritz Reid of Newark, Ohio; grandson, Eddie G. Mock of Quincy, FL., who cared for her at her home; and 12 grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by two sons, Gary Mock and Roger Mock; and a sister, Barbara Ann Fredritz Sarr.

Jerrie requested that no funeral service be held for her and that her ashes be spread across the Gulf of Mexico.

Donations in her honor can be made to The Licking County Foundation; The Works Center for History, Art & Technology; or The Jerrie Mock Pilot Club Fund at The Columbus Foundation.