Jerry Dudak

1935 - 2023

Dudak, Jerry
NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. - Jerry John Dudak of North Fort Myers, Fla., formerly of Castleton-on-Hudson, N.Y., died on October 14, 2023, after a short illness due to complications from end-stage kidney disease. He was surrounded by family all throughout his final weeks and at his passing from this world.
He was born 'Jaroslav Jan' in Hudson, N.Y. in 1935 to Slovak-American parents, Zuzana and Jan Dudák, and raised on a subsistence farm in Stottville, N.Y., after his childhood in the "little Slovakia" neighborhood of New York City's Upper East Side. On the farm, Jerry lived a life of hard work and discipline like so many proud immigrant people to the U.S.A. He attended Hudson High School, Union College, UCLA (B.A. in Psychology) and SUNY at Albany (Master of Public Administration). In the middle of his college career, Jerry left Union College to serve his country by enlisting in the United States Air Force, attaining the rank of airman first class, receiving medals for Outstanding Unit and Good Conduct, and earning an honorable discharge.
While on leave, his service buddy, James Ponder, suggested he travel to James's home in St. Louis, Mo., and take his sister Suzanne out on a date. When Jerry arrived at her doorstep, nervous and unsure of this sight-unseen setup, he walked around the block several times and considered not going in. Suzanne, also nervous, was waiting inside and hoping he wouldn't show up. Taking the gamble, he went in, and their stars aligned. Over the next year, they wrote passionate letters to each other, she in Harris Teacher's College, he from Harmon A.F. base in Newfoundland. After his discharge, he took his last paycheck, bought a Mustang convertible, and drove to St. Louis where he married her, a marriage that has lasted for 64 years.
He worked for over 35 years for the State of New York in various departments: Civil Service, Department of Health, Narcotics Addiction and Control Commission, Department of Transportation, and retiring as the deputy director of the Governor's Office of Employee Relations. Jerry earned the respect of his peers, the unions, and then-Governors Hugh Carey, Mario Cuomo, and George Pataki.
Jerry worked hard, along with wife Suzanne, to support a family of six. Desiring to share the experience his parents had given him in growing up on a farm, they acquired a small 27-acre farm; a property descended of the old Patroon system along the banks of the Hudson River. They raised crops, livestock, and horses, which lead to them running a local chapter of the 4-H focused on equestrianism.
Jerry is survived by the love of his life and wife of 64 years, Suzanne Dudak; his daughter Katherine Schultz and her husband Gary; his granddaughter, Holly Rosenberger and her husband Bruce; and three great-grandchildren, Olivia, Harper, and Cole; his grandson, Jaime Schultz and his wife Alyssa; and three great-grandchildren, Bode, Foster, and Riley; his daughter, Stephanie Muraca and two grandchildren, Sydney Muraca and Aidan Muraca; his daughter, Nancy Dudak; and his son, Christopher Dudak.
There will be a memorial service at Messiah Lutheran Church, 2691 Pine Island Road, Cape Coral, FL, on November 5 at 1 p.m. Jerry will be receiving military honors.
Memories, wishes, and prayers can be shared on legacy.com. If you are considering a gift, in lieu of flowers, his family suggests a donation to the National Kidney Foundation or to Messiah Lutheran Church.
Jerry's greatest joys were tinkering in his workshop as he tended to the upkeep of the family's 120-year-old farm in rural Upstate New York, and spending time with family. He couldn't have been prouder of his large and loving family, for whom he and his wife Suzanne crafted a living legacy of love and support, imparting a deep respect for family, rationality, ethical behavior, and the virtues of honest, pastoral living.