February 20, 1936 - March 29, 2023
A Mass of Christian Burial celebrating and honoring the life of Gerald “Jerry” Epley, 87, of Enid, will be held 10:00 A.M. Tuesday April 4, 2023 at St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church with Father Miller officiating. Burial will follow at Memorial Park Cemetery. Rosary Services will be held at 6:30 P.M. April 3, 2023 at Brown-Cummings Funeral Home chapel. Funeral Services are under the direction of Brown-Cummings Funeral Home.
Gerald George (Jerry) Epley, Jr was born on February 20, 1936 on a US Army Calvary post at Ft. Crook (now Offit AFB), Nebraska to Gerald Epley, Sr and Jeanette Yeomans Epley. As a military family, Jerry’s life was marked by frequent moves to places such as Kyoto, Japan, Ft. Lewis Washington, West Point, New York and Washington, D.C. Jerry’s father served 6 years overseas during World War II and Korea. He experienced and embraced a myriad of changes. He had an older sister, Susan, and after World War II, the family welcomed 2 younger brothers, John and William (Bill) Epley.
The Epley family has a long history of military service. Jerry’s father, his 2 uncles, his 2 brothers, and several cousins all graduated from the United States Military Academy. Jerry also attended West Point from 1956-1960 and earned a degree in civil engineering.
When Jerry lived in Washington, DC, he attended a dance and met his wife, Mary Bouchard from Enid. After the dance, Jerry and Mary met to play tennis for their first date. Mary often said that you can tell a lot about someone’s character while playing sports. Mary and Jerry wed on June 6, 1960. Jerry’s first assignment was Munich, Germany, where daughters Susan and Carolyn were born.
He served in the US Army infantry Division and Army Reserves for 23 years and retired as a Lieutenant Colonel. During his military career, he fought 3 separate tours in Vietnam as an Army Ranger. He was stationed at Anh Khe and Pleiku in 1965, Da Nang in 1968, and Saigon in 1972. Jerry loved the people and countryside of Vietnam.
Jerry had a life-long passion for learning that he passed onto his children and grandchildren. Besides his engineering degree, he earned an MBA and a Master’s degree in History.
After his military career, he worked for Far-Mar-Co in Enid and later his friend Bill Allen helped him land a job at Union Equity Grain Cooperative/Farmland. Jerry loved traveling to all of the co-ops in Kansas, Texas, and Oklahoma during their annual meetings. Later, he worked as a market hedger, buying and selling wheat on the futures market. After retirement, he volunteered at Our Daily Bread for over 12 years. He was a member of St. Gregory’s Catholic church in Enid.
Jerry was preceded in death by his wife Mary in 2014 his parents, and his sister Susan Carroll. Jerry is survived by his 2 daughters, Susan Epley and Carolyn Epley (Jay) Nicholas who both reside in Enid. He is also survived by brothers John of Enid and Bill of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. After raising 2 daughters, Jerry was thrilled to have son-in-law, Jay and 3 grandsons, Stephen, John and Brent Nicholas, who he showered with hunting and fishing gear.
Memorials may be made in his honor to Our Daily Bread, Catholic Charities, or The Enid Tennis Association with Brown-Cummings Funeral Home serving as custodian of the funds.
Obituaries are posted, in part, due to the generosity of The Commons.
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