July 05, 1947 - November 09, 2021
The final curtain call came unexpectedly for Jerry Bo Uppinghouse on November 9, 2021. Jerry was born in Great Falls, Montana to Glen and Doris Uppinghouse on July 5, 1947. He had one older brother, Ronny and two younger sisters, Susan, and Connie. Years later his father had another daughter, Tracy. The family traveled frequently, eventually landing in southern California. Jerry and his brother spent many carefree and happy summers with their grandparents in Parker, Arizona. Jerry attended Chaffey High School in Ontario, California. He played drums in the high school marching band, which played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. In addition, Jerry had his own rock and roll band that played at local clubs. Jerry graduated high school early to enlist in the Navy. Jerry spent one tour of duty in Vietnam on the USS Kitty Hawk before joining his brother for two tours on the USS Coral Sea. Jerry returned from Vietnam, married, and was blessed with the birth of two children, Anjanette and Bo. Later divorcing. In pursuit of education, Jerry attended Boise State University then transferred to Eastern Washington University. He graduated with a degree in Communication Disorders. While at EWU, Jerry met the love of his life, Karen; of course, while he was preforming in a silly skit. Jerry and Karen were married July 11, 1981. Jerry became a father again with the birth of daughter, Taylor. How parenting had changed over 20 years! Jerry was active in his younger years. He enjoyed downhill, cross country and water skiing. He and Karen played on coed softball teams, bowling leagues and competed in hacky sack tournaments. He enjoyed the sports, but he also enjoyed the celebrations that followed the events. Jerry’s professional career began at West Central Community Center. He was the first Recreation Director when the new building opened. He brought many clubs, programs and activities to the center including judo, hacky sack, theater, hand bells, basketball, badminton and even roller disco! At WCCC, Jerry began writing grants and pursuing funding to support these programs. This led him to a career in fundraising. He was self-employed providing fundraising services, which gave him time to train and complete a marathon. He worked for other non-profit organizations such a Nova Enterprises, Allegro, and Big Brothers and Sisters. Jerry returned to his alma mater, EWU and completed his career as a Director of Development and Prospect Researcher, retiring in 2012. Jerry loved his work, but his passion was theater. He worked with many theater groups including but not limited to; Rogue Theater, Valley Repertoire Theater, Theater Arts for Children, Ignite, and Spokane Children’s Theater. In addition, he performed at Spokane Civic Theater and Firth J Crew Studio. Jerry participated in every aspect of community theater; board member, director, actor, writer, set builder, light designer, fund raising…If he wasn’t at the theater, you could find him at the golf course or at his desk coloring. Jerry discovered golfing and worked to perfect his skills over the years. He enjoyed yearly summer golf trips to Canada, Montana, and Idaho with the guys. Jerry not only played but served on the board of the EWU Retirement Golf League at the Fairways. He also enjoyed golfing with his midweek foursome, rotating between many golf courses in the area. Jerry usually picked up another round or two with his wife and/or good friends. In 2016, Jerry started his new hobby of coloring. At first, he was satisfied using left-over pencils from his daughter’s days at elementary school and coloring in the popular books for adults. His imagination and desire to improve led him to the internet where he researched unique designs, and new techniques of coloring; layering, blending, and burnishing. Most importantly, he learned the value of high-quality pencil. Jerry became fascinated with the coloring posters of Jamie Courtier’s World of Wildergorn. He always posted his projects to Jamie’s online site and received many treasured complements regarding his choice of color. In December 2019, Jerry received the first copy of Jamie’s book to arrive in the US, which he promptly began to color. Jerry shared his coloring story in an interview for the Spokesman-Review. An article appeared in the paper in April 2021 sharing Jerry’s coloring story, entitled Color Him Happy. Jerry will be greatly missed by his wife Karen: his three children Anjanette Hazzard (Joel), Bo Uppinghouse, and Taylor Uppinghouse; his four grandchildren M’Kala, Natasha, David and Tehya; his brother Ronny Uppinghouse (Kathy), sister Connie, his extended family, theater friends, golf buddies, and many friends. He was preceded in death by his parents Glen and Doris and his sister Susan. We will always treasure the memories of his smile, giggle, and passion for life. The Celebration of Life will be held at Fairmount Sunset Chapel on November 26, 2021, at 12:00 pm. Memorial contributions suggested to; EWURA Golden Eagle Scholarship Fund, Spokane Children’s Theater, or your favorite community theater.
Comentários