Jerome Otto Kessenich, 86 passed away Friday, May 19th surrounded by his family.

Jerry was born in Milwaukee, WI on December 13, 1936, to John and Beulah Kessenich.  He and his family later moved to Greeley, CO where he developed his love of the mountains, spending much of his time in Rocky Mountain National Park.

In college, Jerry joined the Air Force through ROTC to pursue his desire to fly and see the world, he also found his passion for golf.  He got his navigators wings at James Connally Air Force Base in Waco, Texas where he met his wife, Geraldine (Jerrie).  From there he was assigned to Wiesbaden Germany where he flew in a unit of C-97s Following that he was sent to Pleiku where he flew EC-47's during the Vietnam War.  Jerry had over 700 combat hours and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Upon completion of his tour in Vietnam and after 10 years of flight crew duties, he was selected as the first Commander of a squadron based in Arlington Virginia.  He managed various aspects of the Air Force audiovisual mission, from electronic news gathering and motion picture production to audiovisual documentation of events world-wide.

Following his retirement from the Air Force he founded two businesses (D-K Associates and Optym Professional Services) and spent 20 years as a business owner and consultant writing technical and proposal documents.

Prior to joining the Air Force, Jerry performed as an announcer, newscaster, sportscaster, and DJ on radio station KFKA in Greeley, Colorado. He was a reporter and photographer for a daily newspaper and columnist for a weekly newspaper. He was engaged in theatre and music participating in many stage productions in high school, college and more recently in the drama club at Ashby Ponds in Ashburn, VA.   Jerry continued with his passion for broadcasting by becoming the announcer of his children's swim meets at Lakeview Swim Club and the sports announcer at  Robinson Secondary School both in Fairfax, Virginia. He was also an emcee at numerous national political events and an on and off-screen narrator for numerous media productions.

Jerry spent his retirement enjoying trips to the beach and traveling the world.  As a member of Belmont Country Club, he spent time on their Board, playing golf and bridge and spending time with friends.

Jerry earned his Bachelor of Arts degrees in the field of English and Speech from the University of Northern Colorado and a Master of Arts degree in the field of Communicative Arts from the University of Southern California.

Despite a varied career, Jerry would tell anyone that his most significant accomplishment was his family.  He and Jerrie loved to entertain and developed a reputation for their parties.  He also took immense pride in raising their 3 children and was very active in their lives growing up.

Jerry is survived by his wife of nearly 62 years, Geraldine; his son Karl Kessenich and his wife Cindy and their son Matthew and his wife Hadley; his daughter Kate Bett and her husband Christopher, their sons Alex and Miles, Miles's wife Alice, and their grandson Rowan. He is predeceased by his parents, his brother John and his daughter Karen Adamo and her husband Mark.

He was a friend to many and will be remembered for his love of people, sense of humor, kindness, generosity, and his singing.

A service honoring Jerry's memory will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Dementia Society of America (Memorials | Dementia Society of America) or the Glaucoma Foundation (Donate - The Glaucoma Foundation)