Jerry W Erskine

Jerry W Erskine, 92, passed away Saturday, December 16, 2023, at his home in Lebanon. Jerry W Erskine was born April 30th, 1931, at home in Hemlock, Michigan to Clyde and Phyllis (Speath) Erskine (both deceased). Jerry attended a one room grade school and graduated with 4 girls in his class. He attended Hemlock High School and graduated with 31 classmates in 1949. During his high school years, he showed his Grand Champion Golden Gurnsey cow, Ruby, at the Saginaw County Fair and the Michigan State Fair in Lansing, Michigan. After graduation, Jerry worked at the Buick car factory in Flint, Michigan for one year and then on the family dairy farm with his father until March 18th, 1951, when he enlisted in the US Navy doing his boot camp training at Great Lakes Naval Training Center. He was then stationed at Patuxent River Naval Air Station in Maryland where he was part of the Navy Boxing Team and was the Light Heavyweight Champion of the Patuxent River Naval Command. On October 31st, 1953, Jerry married Marjorie Jane Stoner of Butler, PA. The next two years Jerry spent sailing to exotic places while Marge worked at home stashing away funds to buy their first home. After being Honorably discharged on March 18th, 1955, Jerry and Marge settled in Meridian, PA – a little town just outside of Butler, PA. Jerry worked for John Tack Concrete Company and then for Pullman Standard Car Company painting railroad cars. In 1956, with a little encouragement from family members and using the GI Bill, Jerry registered for college at Penn State University at State College, PA in the School of Vocation Agriculture. With the help of Marge, who taught him that “I ain’t got no” was not proper English, and between setting up trailer homes in the trailer park where they lived, and studying into the dark of night, Jerry graduated with a BS in Science and a teaching degree in Vocational Agriculture after only 34 months of steady classes. Upon graduation Jerry accepted a job with Wickes Lumber in Elkhorn, Wisconsin. In 1961 Jerry was promoted to Assistant Manager of the Wickes store in Galesburg, Illinois where he became Manager in 1963. Records would show that he ran a very neat profitable operation and in 1967 was promoted to District Sales Manager traveling the states of Illinois and Indiana. In 1968 Jerry became Regional Credit Manager for Wickes covering the states of Indiana, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, and Tennessee. In 1978 Jerry retired from the Wickes organization to start a construction company with long-time friend, Don Brown. During that time, his company constructed homes in Lebanon, Zionsville, Bloomington, Indianapolis, and surrounding towns. Project of note in Lebanon include Markel Meadows subdivision, the Parkwood Nursing Home, and Tom Temple Hall at the Methodist Children’s Home. Other projects were the first solar home in Boone County and centerpiece Homes at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 1980 and 1981. Hard times hit the housing industry in 1980 causing problems for home builders, but Jerry took hold of a minor entity of their firm, Laminique – a plastic laminate cabinet shop – and turned it into a thriving enterprise. Starting with one man and a saw, the company grew to one of the area’s best equipped laminate cabinet shops which he and Marge sold in 2002. In his remaining years he spent hours and hours working for his favorite organization, Rotary. He was a 43-year member of The Rotary Club of Lebanon – being very proud of the fact that he had perfect attendance for the bulk of the time. Jerry was President of the Lebanon Rotary Club in 1989 – 1990, a Group Study Exchange Team Leader to India in 1996, and District Governor in 1999 – 2000. His motto was “Just Say Yes.” During his year as Governor, he increased annual funds giving 136.35% by encouraging his fellow Rotarians to save quarters in film canisters – a system that was copied by several District Governors around the Midwest the following years. Jerry and Marge travelled to 18 Rotary International Conferences which took them to 33 countries. Jerry’s siblings: James (Dorothy) both deceased, Kenneth (Barbara) both deceased, Carol Wheatley (Ron, deceased), Daniel (Jan, deceased), Alice (Bill) Frollo, Larry (Kathy), Lois (Henry) Aumaugher, and Shirley Fink (deceased). He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Marjorie, and Children: Valerie, Victoria Edwards, Mark (Debi, deceased), Kim, Kathy (Dennis) Pike; Grandchildren: Tyler (Katie) Edwards, Austin Edwards, Rebekah (Thomas) Martin, Alyssa (Colton) Cross, and Cameron (Katelyn) Pike; Great grandchildren: Taylor, Nicoli, Peyton, Chloe, Gabriel, Rayce, Lochlan, Wyatt, Avery, and Lady Jane. The past few years when he is not working on his latest Rotary project of making Lebanon – The Cleanest City in Indiana, you could find him working in what his grandsons called Grandpa’s Monster Garage or sitting on his deck watching the golfers as they putted on the number 3 and 7 of Ulen Golf Course. Now he is working in another shop, but expect he has his eye on #3 and #7 greens. Memorial Services are planned for 12:00 noon on Saturday, December 23, 2023, at Myers Mortuary, 1502 North Lebanon Street in Lebanon, Indiana. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of services. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to the Rotary Club of Lebanon, P.O. Box 42, Lebanon, Indiana 46052 or to the Boone County Senior Services, 515 CrownPointe Drive, Lebanon, Indiana 46052

Jerry W Erskine

April 30, 1931 - December 16, 2023