Obituary of Gerald Charles Pomeroy

Jerry was born on April 9, 1927, in Jamestown, North Dakota, to Ward and Stella Pomeroy. He died peacefully at home on Mercer Island on May 9, 2012. He had fond memories of helping on his grandparents’ farm in North Dakota, rounding up the cattle while riding bareback. He also loved to tell the story of his grandfather Pomeroy in Madelia, Minnesota, who was a member of the posse that captured the Younger brothers after they separated from Jesse James in 1876. Later the family moved to Montana and from there to Spokane. Jerry graduated from North Central High School in 1945. He then joined the Army Air Corps and was stationed on Guam as a weather observer for part of his tour of duty. After discharge he attended Whitworth College, where he met Peggy. They were married in 1952 after she had finished nursing school in New York while Jerry was attending the College of Architecture at the University of Washington, from which he graduated in 1954. He was a senior partner in the firm Waldron, Pomeroy, Smith, Foote and Akira. They designed many schools, several hospital additions, Schmitz Hall on the UW campus, the Bell Telephone building in downtown Seattle, Emmanuel Episcopal Church on Mercer Island, and the Mercer Island Covenant Church. He was a past president of the Mercer Island Visual Arts League and the Seattle Chapter of the American Institute of Architecture. Jerry was an avid skier, claiming that he was clocked at 90 MPH in a downhill race at Whitefish, Montana, when he was in college. He was also a glider pilot, entering many national competitions and making several 5-hour flights from Eastern Washington to Montana. Many flights were above 10,000 feet, requiring oxygen, including one over 29,000 feet that won him a high altitude award. He loved music and sang with the tenors of the Issaquah Singers. He was a talented sketch artist and sold prints of UW campus buildings and donated countless portraits to people and organizations. He is survived by Peggy, his wife of 60 years, his children Linda, Charles (Susan), and Jim, his grandchildren Alex, Elena, Isabella, and Charlie, and his sisters Delayne Goss of Colorado Springs and Dianna Harter of Gig Harbor. Funeral arrangements are being made by Curnow Funeral Home . A memorial service will be held on Sunday, June 10, at 4 p.m. at the Mercer Island Covenant Church, 3200 78th Ave. SE, Mercer Island. Bring “Jerry” stories to tell. In lieu of flowers, donations in his name can be made to Boyer Children’s Clinic or a charity of your choice.