Jerome "Jerry" Catanzaro

Waverly Jerome "Jerry" David Catanzaro, 71, passed away peacefully at his home Saturday, April 6, 2024, surrounded by his wife and children. He was born Sept. 22, 1952, in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Bernice (Maloney) and Cosimo Catanzaro. He is preceded in death by his parents and one brother, Bobby.

Jerry is survived by his wife Molly, to whom he was married for 43 years. As Jerry would jokingly say, "15 happily." He is also survived by his three children- Carly (Paul) Price, Chris (Caila) Catanzaro, and Casey (AJ) Phillips, eight grandchildren: Jasper, Emmitt, Vin, Benton, Caroline, Brigham, Millie, and Luca, and his sister Janet (Steve) Creed. Also surviving are numerous nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews.

Jerry was a 1970 graduate of St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati. He attended the University of Cincinnati and graduated in 1974 with a Bachelor`s degree in Political Science then went on to attend law school at The Ohio State University where he graduated in 1977. Jerry practiced law and became Pike County Court Judge in 1980. Jerry served as judge until 1996 and then continued practicing law until 2008 when he was appointed Pike County Juvenile and Probate Judge. Jerry retired as the Juvenile and Probate Judge in 2011. Instead of enjoying retirement, he went right back to work as an assigned judge all over the state. He took cases from Cincinnati to Columbus and everywhere in between. His love for the law was endless and there was nobody who knew it better than Judge Cat.

In addition to practicing law, Jerry previously served as the law director for the Village of Beaver, taught contract law, evidence and discovery and bankruptcy as an adjunct professor at Shawnee State University. He was also a past president of the Pike County Bar Association and a former trustee of the Pike County Law Library Association.

Aside from the law, Jerry had three loves in his life- Molly and his family, his dog Pappy, and sports.

Jerry and Molly spent endless months traveling. They loved to hop in the car and take off driving all over the country. They would go anywhere as long they were together and Jerry had his file of travel information and places to visit. Their favorite place to visit was Key West and they always loved a good cruise.

One of his favorite pastimes was attending Cincinnati Reds baseball games with his wife and kids. He was a season ticket holder for 12 years and loved everything about Great American Ballpark. Every Saturday and Sunday in the fall you could find him in his recliner watching the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Bengals. His sports knowledge was endless and his children loved nothing more than doing sports trivia with him.

Jerry was an honest, fair, and compassionate man who will be deeply missed by those who loved him. To that end, he told his wife if she had any type of service or memorial for him after he passed away he would haunt her for the rest of her life. Therefore, there will be no service for Jerry, but the family would be grateful for any donations made in his honor to the St. Mary Queen of the Mission, Pike County Food Pantry or Pike Pet Pals.

Arrangements in care of Botkin Hornback Funeral Home in Waverly. Jerome "Jerry" Catanzaro