Obituary
Gerald “Jerry” Puckett
November 24, 1940 — June 5, 2023
Gerald “Jerry” Puckett, took his last breath and slipped away, peacefully on June 5, 2023 after a battle with Parkinson’s Disease. He was 82 years old.
Jerry was born in Atlanta, Georgia and grew up in the heart of downtown Atlanta. He graduated from O’Keefe High School, where he was a member of the 1954 Georgia Region AAU Champion Cross-County Track Team. After high school, he attended Shorter
College in Rome, Georgia before transferring to Young Harris College. Jerry finished his degree from the Candler School of Theology – a graduate school of Emory University, which is one of the seminaries affiliated with the United Methodist Church. He had a total
of 7 years of college. He served as a Methodist Minister in Tampa, Florida for years. When Jerry chose to make a change in his life, he pursued a variety of different career paths. He was always enthusiastic about every occupation he chose; however, he was
always looking for that one profession that he could be passionate about. Then one day, he decided to turn his hobby of aviation into a career. At that point, he found his passion.
Jerry became captivated with aviation at a young age. His cousin, Ed Murphy, took him up in a small plane and Jerry was mesmerized. As soon as he was old enough, Jerry took flying lessons and obtained his pilot’s license. He always dabbled in flying and at one time even owned a small plane. He made up his mind to get his commercial pilot’s license, and the rest is history. He was a pilot for several major airlines and several private companies before making Southwest Airlines his final professional career stop. After retiring as a pilot, he became a member of Southwest Airline’s Training Team. Jerry was very knowledgeable about the aviation industry. He was always willing to share his experiences and perspectives with anyone who asked. His desire to assist and teach newcomers was very evident in all his interactions. Jerry was always open to being a mentor to anyone. He took pride in everything he did and wanted to share his knowledge. In his aviation career, Jerry logged more than 25,000 flight hours.
While employed with Southwest Airlines, Jerry was relocated to Salt Lake City, Utah where he lived out most of his remaining years. As an avid outdoorsman, Jerry was in heaven out west. With the beautiful mountain rivers, fly fishing became one of his passions. Like with everything else, he wanted to be the best. He spent hours with the local fishermen learning the expert techniques. Before you knew it, he was telling stories of how “the big fish” got away.
While in college in Young Harris, Jerry explored the North Georgia Mountains every free moment. Growing up in the city, nature was all new to him and he loved finding “hidden gems of paradise” off the beaten path. In later years, he took great pride in sharing some of the special places with his family, especially his nieces and nephews. One such sacred place was Trey Falls, which could only be found by hiking on a small, winding dirt path that opened to a beautiful waterfall. It became a place where Jerry showed his family how to “jump off the falls” and land into the icy cold pool of water below. This became a sort of “rite of passage” that has been passed down for several generations.
Jerry never married, though it was not for the lack of trying. He was quite a ladies’ man and took great pride in his looks and physique. He was never able to find the right lady to share his life with and he would not just settle for anyone. He was blessed with many nieces and nephews, who he treated like his own children. Jerry made them all feel special in every way. To say that Uncle Jerry was the greatest uncle does not do him justice. Uncle Jerry is and will always be a Legend to his family.
Jerry had an enormous heart and wonderful sense of humor. He was generous, loyal, and brave. He was clever and full to the brim with knowledge gained through all his life experiences. He will be remembered for all the heart he shared with his friends and family. He truly loved each of them. If you knew Jerry, your life has been blessed.
Jerry Puckett preceded in death by his mother, Theresa Jean Puckett; his father, Lofton Puckett; his sister Eleanor Jean Dobson; his sister, Linda Neuhaus; Nieces – Jenny Vickers, Amanda Zaloznik; Nephews – Brad Dalton, Matthew Dalton.
He is survived by last sibling, Gail Puckett Zalozik; brother in law, Glen Zaloznik; Nephews - Paul Pefley, Greg Pefley, Howell Vickers, Derek Zalozik, Darren Zaloznik; Nieces – Debbie Dalton, Wendy Miller, Angie Sammons. Great Nephews-Brett Pefley, Justin Miller, Jeremy Miller, Adrian Sammons, Alec Beecham. Great Nieces – Samantha Pefley, Katryn Pecci, Carrie Crews, Casey Hunt, Kelly Vickers, Ava Ellis, Lauren Sammons.
Donations
Donations can be made in Jerry’s memory at the Parkinson’s Foundation to Advance Research @ www.parkinson.org