Gerald James Jeffry

1937 - 2025

Gerald James Jeffry
12/06/1937 - 03/05/2025
Gerald James "Jerry" Jeffry, beloved husband, father, grandfather, uncle, mentor and friend, passed peacefully in the presence of family on March 5, 2025 at the age of 87. His parents, Demetrio and Theresa Jeffry, and his older brothers, John Jeffry and Thomas Jeffry, predeceased him. Jerry is survived by his loving wife of 63 years, Sheila Collins Jeffry, their three children, James Jeffry, Kathleen Summers (husband Jon Summers), and Edward Jeffry and their six grandchildren, Megan Jeffry, Jack Summers, Joseph Summers, Patrick Jeffry, Ally Jeffry, and Kaitlyn Jeffry.
Jerry was born in Oakland and grew up in Clayton, where he enjoyed riding horses, recreationally and as part of a drill team, working on cars and fishing. He went to grammar and high schools in Concord before attending and graduating from Bellarmine College Preparatory in San Jose. Jerry studied in college at Santa Clara University and the University of San Francisco. He enlisted and served in the Army Reserves, where he was trained as a medic. After college, Jerry studied and graduated from the dental and orthodontic programs of Loyola University Dental School in Chicago, Illinois. Then he and his young bride, Sheila, returned to the Bay Area with one child in tow to set up the first ever orthodontic practice in Antioch.
Dr. Jeffry helped countless people attain beautiful smiles over the course of more than 50 years as an orthodontist in Antioch and then in Brentwood. He loved getting to know his patients and encouraging them to grow and to achieve in life according to their wishes. He was a mentor and a positive influence for many young people and the care he provided to some families spanned multiple generations. He was grateful for the work he did to help more extreme dental and orthodontic cases at Oakland Children's Hospital and in the Philippines.
Jerry loved being outdoors. Lake Tahoe was a special place for him. He enjoyed bringing vegetables, flowers and other plants to life in the garden. Jerry liked fishing for trout or salmon, camping and hunting for game birds, deer or elk. He loved flying, boating, racing cars and traveling throughout the world. Water and snow skiing brought joy to him. Getting in touch with his Italian heritage, Jerry made homemade wine for decades and liked to share that bounty with friends and family.
Jerry embraced the Catholic faith. He believed in and took solace in the promise of an eternal life in Heaven. He and Sheila were very active in the parish at the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Antioch and in other ways in the broader church. "Faith, family and friends" was the phrase that guided Jerry & Sheila's life together.
Visitation will take place on March 27th at 6 o'clock in the evening at the Church of the Most Holy Rosary in Antioch, California. A rosary will follow at 7 o'clock that evening. Then a funeral mass will be held on March 28th at 10:30 in the morning at the same church, followed by burial at Queen of Heaven Cemetery in Lafayette, California and a Celebration of Jerry's Life from 2 to 5 o'clock in the afternoon at Zio Fraedo's Restaurant in Pleasant Hill, California.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.