Jerry Southworth was my red headed freckled-faced younger brother born during the Feb. 22, 1958 snowstorm. Our father, of course, was bowling. Jerry's memorial service was held Feb. 2010 during a snowstorm on Super Bowl Sunday, early enough for everyone to get home for the game. Jerry would be happy. Sports, all sports, was the constant in Jerry's life from birth.
As a young child, known as "Grandmom's Little Champ," Jerry went through his baseball warm-up routine to encourage our 83-year- old grandmother to move her fractured arm. My father also sawed off a set of golf clubs so Jerry could golf along with him. Our backyard was known in West Lawn, PA, as a baseball pick-up game field, complete with canvas bases. Many of the local kids came to play and they were welcome to bring their dads if they, too, would want to play. Jerry was outgoing, friendly and kind to everyone.
He went on to junior and senior high, still being short, but continued playing baseball, football, and some basketball. He added wrestling briefly, doing well and golfing again, doing well. Still also being outgoing, he became quite the entertainer, announcing at some assemblies, going on to broadcast at some sports and other school events.
He attended the University of Oklahoma, in Norman, Oklahoma, majoring in Journalism. He broadcast for some of their sporting events including their Orange Bowl games even after his graduation. He also did some local broadcasting.
Returning to Berks County, he resumed playing adult baseball and golf while working in human resources. His job included making training films and teacher people including the handicapped who he trained one-on-one. Life was good, and of course jobs change. Eventually, he became the fulltime caregiver for our older brother, who was bedridden for 11 yrs and died of complications of MS. Bill was no tiny Tim and never did lose his appetite, so moving him was quite a job. During this time, our father, never sick in his life before, developed three different cancers. The second one was the one that took him. Jerry helped my mother with him as well. He carried our father to the bathroom for the last few months. A year after these two were gone, my mother suffered a bout of sepsis, on 9/11/01. We almost lost her. Jerry was her live-in nurse. He was also on the PA Board and Association for softball and was coaching a team for about 10 years that had reached the National Title. He and his team gave her the will to go on. In Sept 2009, after having a simple cataract removal, she developed a MRSA infection and became blind in that eye. Becoming more dependent, she could no longer drive. We drove to Hershey weekly for months.
As well as human care, Jerry was a dog whisperer. He was everyone's vacation dog caregiver. There was Katie who sang to a record. Scooter who loved to play with my cocker spaniels, Lucky and Princess. Puppy daycare was at my house every day at lunch after my father was gone. My father first and then Jerry would go to my house and let the four cocker spaniels, my 2 and my daughter's Ginger and Daisy May also cocker spaniels, out for a potty stop. After I retired, my 2, both 13 yr old had died, left a big hole in my heart so we now had a little black Peke-A-Poo, Maggie May. My daughter moved to the Bahamas for 3 years to work so Jerry kept Ginger and Daisy May for three years at his house with him and my mother. Jerry fell Jan 31, 2010 and died quickly. Both of those dogs died soon after.
Jerry had been training the next generation of athletes. My grandson and granddaughter both have a good throw in baseball according to Jerry. My grandson is a slugger. And Jerry didn't get to see the latest grandson-he's a big boy (10 lbs at birth)! Maybe football, like Bill. I'm sure Jerry will be watching over him.