Gerald L. “Jerry” Berwald

BERWALD, JOHNSON, MCCORMICK, SEELHAMMER, RECOY, MARSHALL

Posted By: Tara (email)
Date: 8/2/2010 at 14:02:53

Gerald L. “Jerry” Berwald, 69, of Iowa City passed away peacefully at Mercy Hospital on Sunday, July 25, 2010 following a short illness.

Jerry was born on January 3, 1941, in Janesville, WI, the son of Melvin and Fern (Johnson) Berwald. At the age of six, Jerry’s family moved from Wisconsin to Rockford, IL where he spent the rest of his childhood and went on to graduate from West High School in 1959 and later from the Rockford School of Business. On October 14, 1972, Jerry was united in marriage to Jane Ann McCormick .

Jerry retired from Iowa City Transit after 27 years of driving bus. He was very proud of his service awards, took pride in his job, and enjoyed talking to his regular riders. He also loved participating in the “bus rodeos”. Prior to moving to Iowa City in 1976 he was owner/operator of B-J Moving and Storage in Rockford, IL. For the last few years he has worked part-time at the Hobby Corner in the Sycamore Mall. He talked animatedly with customers about his love for trains and model trains. Jane will smile and tell you that his part-time income primarily supported his hobby of collecting.

He was a life time member of the Rock Island Technical Society (RITS) and was currently in charge of publication sales for the organization. He was also a member of the Milwaukee Road Historical Society. His love of trains was evident in every conversation and he enjoyed participating in train conventions, shows, as well as the local clubs. He was an avid collector of HO scale model trains and enjoyed operating them on his layout and his friends’ layouts. Jerry was an active but quiet member of St Marks UMC and was the smiling face and pleasant voice in the office most every Sunday morning.

Jerry was especially proud of his three grandchildren and excited to tell everyone about the one on the way. He gave the kids train t-shirts and trains every chance he could. His first grandchild Abigail still remembers and talks about watching trains with Papa. A pig-tailed Abigail even stars in one of his many train videos. He still laughed about a day at the cabin two years ago when Kaitlynn dressed him up as the prettiest princess of all. The photo shows his pride and her handiwork. Benjamin loved fishing in Minnesota with Papa every June. The contest was for the smallest fish of the day.

Survivors include his wife Jane of Iowa City and their two children: a daughter Sandra Seelhammer and her former spouse Tracy Seelhammer, and their children Abigail and Benjamin all of Faribault, MN; a son Cory (Diane) Berwald and their daughter Kaitlyn and her future sister to be born in October all of Iowa City. Jerry is also survived by his sister Marsha (Robert) Recoy of Cherry Valley, IL and nephew Brent Marshall of Rockford , IL. Jerry was preceded in death by his parents.