Gerald John "Jerry" Mcdevitt

McDevitt, Gerald John "Jerry"

Born April 9, 1931 in Jackson, Michigan passed away on Thursday, May 28, 2020 at the age of 89. Jerry was born to Gerald and Alice (Thompson) McDevitt. He graduated from St. Mary's High School in 1949 and Jackson Community College in 1952. After graduation he married Shirley Ann Roehm in 1952.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents and his in-laws, William and Elsie Roehm; brother Tom, brothers in-law Stas Karasek, Jack Arbanas, Bobby and Elmer Roehm and sister in-law Kay McDevitt. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, sons Mike (Joan), Joe (Joy), David (Candy), 8 grandchildren, 5 great grandchildren, siblings Shirley (Bill) Phillips, Mary Karasek, Kathy McDevitt and Pat (Phyllis) McDevitt, sister-in-law Rosalie (Roehm) Arbanas, close family friends Rhonda Nall, and Jean Mather and many nieces and nephews.

Jerry became the third generation in the real estate business where he was a Real Estate broker for 48 years. He was the owner/operator of McDevitt Realty, McDevitt Appraisal and McDevitt Property Management. He served as President of the Jackson Board of Realtors for 4 years, Michigan District Vice President for 3 years and National Association of Realtors Director for 2 years.

Jerry, in addition to serving in the Army Reserves for 9 years after college, was also very active in community service serving as the Jackson County Register of Deeds from 1989-1996, a Summit Township Trustee for 2 years, and a Jackson County Commissioner for 12 years. Jerry also served on the Jackson County Parks Commission for 26 years, the Cascades Park Foundation for 19 years, the Village of Parma Local Development Finance Authority for 25 years, Jackson Area Transportation Authority for 11 years and the Jackson County Foundation for 10 years. He was a member of the Civitan Club of Jackson and the Vandercook Lake Lions Club.

Along with being active within the community, Jerry like to travel and play cards with family and friends. He and Shirley belonged to a Pedro group for 50 years with 5 other couples. Jerry was the patriarch of his family. He helped and supported family and friends in numerous instances. He will be remembered for his honesty and integrity of both his professional and personal life and his love of the Jackson community. He loved celebrating holidays, birthdays and other gatherings with family. He will be greatly missed.

The family will receive friends at the Cascades Manor House on Sunday, June 28, 2020 beginning at 1:30 PM followed by a celebration of his life at 2:45 PM.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made the Jackson District Library http://myjdl.com/support-the-library/ or to St. Rita Catholic Church https://www.stritacatholicparish.com/online-giving.html