Jerry David Asher's Obituary
ASHER, Jerry David
Jerry entered into rest peacefully on January 26, 2015, surrounded by his loving family. He went home to be with our Lord and Savior after a heroic fight against heart disease. He was a native of Joplin Missouri born on September 13, 1937. He spent his mischievous childhood in Joplin with his older brothers Jim and Bill playing “cowboys” and “horse thieves”; and also shooting at each other with BB guns, luckily not killing each other. He had a good childhood hunting and fishing, and sliding into town on iced streets holding onto the rear bumper of a bus. He and his brothers would spend all day in town on Saturdays watching cowboy movies which cost them about a quarter. Six cents for the bus round trip, a dime for the show and a dime for the popcorn. He worked for his money either mowing lawns or caddying at the golf course making a buck for 18 holes and sometimes tips were offered. When he was ten, he and his brothers would spend the summer with their father near Jacksonville California at his father’s bar and restaurant called Dan’s Camp. There, he spent time jumping off the roof of the bar into the swimming pool; fishing in the Tuolumne River; and ditching and teasing his younger sister Rita. He was a big brother to his baby sister Cora. At 14, he moved to California with his father. He spent most of his high school years either cutting class or getting kicked out of school and hitchhiking to one place or another including Texas City, Texas where his mother lived. At 17 he joined the Army, having had to get his mother’s consent, and served 2 terms in Germany, in which on more than a few occasions, he ended up in trouble for one reason or another, usually for fighting. It was known well by many that he had a notorious left hook, which he inherited from his father. He met the love of his life Gracie Mozell (Zell) while working at one of his father’s bars, the Pioneer Club. They were married in 1961 and he was a loving and devoted husband to her for 54 years. He was a dedicated father to Pam, David, Bill, and Kelly, managing and coaching their softball and baseball teams and served as President of Little League. He had many positions in his 30 year career with the Federal Government and retired as an Industrial Engineer. He was a doting grandfather to 14 grandkids and 18 great grandkids. Jerry loved playing guitar; writing songs; playing cards and games; reading; fishing; camping; and perhaps most of all telling stories. He also loved performing magic tricks for his grandkids and great grandkids. He was passionate about genealogy and enjoyed researching his ancestry and sharing his findings with family. His stories and fun loving nature will be missed. Jerry will be remembered dearly and missed deeply by all who knew him.
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