Gerald Deckard

Jerry Deckard, 83 years of age, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, December
28th, 2023 at Norwich Springs.

Jerry was born November 8th, 1940 in Madison, WV to Margarett and Norman Deckard.
Upon graduation from Central High School he entered the United States Army where he worked
as an instructor on guided missiles. Jerry married Darlene Jo on April 8th, 1959 in Columbus, OH.
The two lived in El Paso, Texas where they had their oldest daughter, Melody. After moving
back to Columbus, OH they had their youngest daughter, Joyce.  Jerry was strong in his faith and
spent years serving the Lord. He served as a Deacon, Elder, Trustee, and Sunday School Teacher.
He loved sharing his faith and love of the Lord with everybody he encountered. He knew no
strangers and loved to share stories with everyone he met.

Jerry received his degree from Columbus State. He went on to further his education at Devry University which led to a successful career in Engineering. The companies he worked for included Industrial Nucleonics, North American Rockwell, and Bell Laboratories. After retiring from AT&T (formerly known as Bell Laboratories) he went back to work at PIRI and Avcom. He was highly trusted and respected in his career field.

His passions were not only evident in his career but also in his hobbies. From his love of
antique cars to building computers, Bug Truck, pinball machines, jukeboxes among many other
things you could tell he loved to build and work with his hands. If there was something to be
fixed or built, Jerry was your go to guy. He loved to learn and problem solve.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, Margarett & Norman Deckard and his sister, Donna Finley.
He is survived by his spouse, Darlene Jo (Gilliam) Deckard; his daughters, Melody Deckard and Joyce & Chris Perry; his grandchildren, Stephanie & Thomas McDaniels, Ashley & Kyle Hughes, Michael & Sarah Shields, Alexandra & Tyler Podobnik, Amy & Matt Dugan; his great grandchildren, Autumn, William, Thomas, Clint, Audrie, Sadie, Hugh, Ellie and Macy; and his brother, Glenn Fickle

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, January 3rd at Tidd Funeral Home, 5265 Norwich St.
Hilliard, OH.  There will be a visitation from 2:00-4:00 PM and a service following at 4:00 PM with
military honors, Pastors Rick Baumberger and Danny Vanscoy officiating.