Jerry A. Cherry, of Dayton, Texas, and Christiansburg, passed away on Dec. 4, 2021.
Jerry was born in February 1942 in Dayton and was predeceased by his parents, Arthur T. “Buddy” Cherry and Lillie Mae Holt Cherry.
He is survived by his wife, Linda A. Dudley; the mother of his children, Rebecca J. McAlister Cherry; his sister, Carol Ann Cherry Manning (Richard); his children and stepchildren, Sara Cherry Nuckolls (Will) of Walkersville, Md., P. Ray Cherry (Mary) of Boydton, Va., Benjamin T. Cherry (Rachel) of Bristol, Tenn.; Stephanie A. Wirt, Amanda Wirt Gland (Steve), and Emily J. Wirt of Christiansburg; his grandchildren, Nikki Gland-Turpin (Matt), Jinx Thrasher, Leah Cherry, Drew Cherry, Maliyah Payton, David Nuckolls, and Kai Payton, and great-grandchildren Sutton Turpin and Finn Turpin; nephew and niece Russell Ginsel (Sharon) and Julie Mifflin (Tommy); grand-nephews Ray Ginsel and Ryan Ginsel, grand-niece, Lilly Ginsel; best friend, Curtis Seaberg, and numerous beloved cousins, nieces and nephews, and many friends and colleagues.
Jerry was educated at Sam Houston State University and The University of Missouri. He was a professor at Virginia Tech (1972-1986); and Professor and Department Head of the Poultry Science Department and Associate Dean of the College of Agriculture at The University of Georgia (1986-2008).
Jerry and Linda have divided their time between Christiansburg, Athens, Ga., and Dayton, Texas, since their retirement.
A Texas cowboy, Jerry’s hobbies included watching Virginia Tech and University of Georgia football, cheering on the World Series Champion Atlanta Braves, reading, playing poker, savoring Scotch, writing about The East Piney Woods of Texas, and watching his “kids” enjoy themselves.
A memorial service will be held at 4 p.m. in the McCoy Funeral Home Chapel, Blacksburg, today, Dec. 11, 2021. Visitation will be from 2 to 4 p.m. prior to the service at McCoy Funeral Home.
Honorary pallbearers are Robert White, Coley “Red” Wright, Curtis Seaberg, Robert Seaberg, Paul Siegel, Delbert Jones, David Hutcheson, and David Schankenburg.
Dress is casual, please. Another memorial service will be held in Texas on a 2022 date to be determined.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Jerry’s memory to St. Jude’s Research Hospital in Memphis, https://www.stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html.
