Jerry Lee McKenzie, Hammer, Old Man, Papa, Dad, homemade Grape Nut ice cream extraordinaire, went home to heaven at the ripe old age of 78.  (COVID was not the culprit) Some might say he kicked the can.  If you ever went fishing or on a long road trip with him, “can” has a special meaning.  Coffee can that is.  Folgers.  One pound.  Rusty.

Jerry was born in Oakland, California on May 24, 1943, but lived in Springfield, Missouri for most of his life.  He served in the Air Force from July 1961 until March 1965 when he was honorably discharged.  He was married for about 15 years, which was long enough to help produce two of the best kids in the world.  His son Brad McKenzie, aka Bard, has been married to Michelle McKenzie for nearly 30 years, parents to two of Jerry’s grandkids, Collin and Sarah McKenzie.  Jerry’s daughter Jeani Buckley, or Jean Ann when she was in trouble, is mother to two beautiful girls, April Miller and Ariel Buckley.  Jerry left behind his sister Mary Fornaro, also known as The Old Goat.  They were roommates in their family home for the last 20 or so years, antagonizing each other until the end.  Jerry has many other kin who will someday be united with him in heaven.

Jerry was an avid fisherman, on many occasions a catcherman, and had many fried fish feasts for family and friends, including his famous homemade Grape Nut ice cream.  He caught multiple trophy fish including the Missouri state record large mouth bass, or not, but it was really big.  He went fishing for crappie, white bass, trout, walleye, pike, perch, turtles, and anything else he could catch.  He took multiple fishing trips to Canada with various friends and family where they wore out rods and reels from catching so many small mouth bass.  We could tell a million other fishing stories, or at least a bunch of them, but we don’t have room for them all here.

Jerry was also a hunter, outdoorsman, and avid shooter.  His pursuit of a Boone and Crocket white tail led to many a venison feasts, but never a trophy buck.   He often called it beef to convince his eldest granddaughter to eat it, but the rest of the family looked forward to deer season every year.  There were several interesting deer camp stories to tell, including the time we sat waiting for the police, resulting with him spending a short time in jail.  But that story is for another time.

When he was younger, he had a short career as a race car driver.  It did not last long though, as a serious wreck destroyed his only car and his NASCAR dreams.  As he got older his racing left the track for the streets.  His final race was in his ’97 red Corvette, the Little Red Car, which he got for his 70^th birthday.

Jerry was fun loving, sometimes mischievous, and even down-right ornery, but above all he was a man of faith.  He never hesitated to pray for others in need and was always willing to serve others any way he could.  We are sure he is dancing with all the pretty girls in heaven.

Join us for a celebration of his life, and be ready to share a memory, tell a story, or lie about that one time…  The family is requesting that instead of flowers, please send a favorite fishing lure, or a few, for a fishing themed Christmas tree to be decorated in his memory.

Celebration of life will be 4:00 – 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, November 17, at Greenlawn Funeral Home East.  Burial with Military Honors will be at Missouri Veterans Cemetery on Friday, December 3, at 3:00 p.m.