Jerry R. Michael

Jerry Michael (age 84) died on Friday October 9, after a courageous three-year battle with pancreatic cancer. He was born on February 2, 1936, in New York City, and received a BS and MS in Electrical Engineering. The dawn of the space age was an exciting time for a young engineer, developing digital computers and components of the Lunar Module (LEM) at Grumman, commuting to Cape Kennedy and participating in an Apollo launch. He joined Unisys as a principal, implementing large scale computer systems for federal and state governments, domestically and internationally. He spent the last ten years of his 50-year career as an independent consultant, living in Great Falls, VA, and retired to St. Michaels, MD, in 1999. In 1960, he married Bernice and they moved to Port Washington on the North Shore of Long Island, where they raised their two daughters, Melinda Adams (Gerard) of the Netherlands and Cindy Wolpert (Michael) of Westborough, MA. They enjoyed watching their four grandchildren (Mark and Robert Adams; Natalie and Meredith Wolpert) grow into wonderful adults. Over the years, Jerry led family trips to the Southwest, Caribbean, Costa Rica, Italy, NYC, and the Eastern Shore so the grandchildren could know each other. He started sailing on a Sunfish and over the years increased the size of the sailboat. He and his family loved cruising Long Island Sound and beyond. He sailed many long distance races including a transatlantic and four Bermuda races. He was Commodore of the Knickerbocker Yacht Club in Port Washington on Long Island Sound. He and Bernice enjoyed many bare-charters in the Caribbean and San Juan Islands. When they moved to St. Michaels in 1999, he continued sailing as a form of relaxation. He and Bernice enjoyed traveling and visited over 50 countries. These trips were all wonderful adventures. He was an avid and competitive bridge player. He volunteered as a tax consultant to AARP for 14 years. In all, he loved his family, career, sailing, bridge, reading and close friends. He is survived by Bernice, his loving wife of 60 years; two daughters; and four grandchildren. Burial will be private. A celebration of his life will be held at a later date. Memorial gifts in honor of Jerry Michael may be directed to support pancreatic cancer research at the Johns Hopkins University Kimmel Cancer Center at P.O. Box 17029, Baltimore, MD 21297.

Jerry R. Michael

February 2, 1936 - October 9, 2020