Gerald Frissell's Obituary
Gerald S. Frissell, a native Floridian, was born at Tampa General Hospital on May 6, 1939. On January 5, 2021, he passed away—or, as he would quote from his favorite poem, High Flight, he “slipped the surly bonds of earth…and touched the face of God.” This poem was so meaningful to Jerry because he had a life-long dream of learning to fly, and he made this dream come true. With his private pilot license and instrument rating, he achieved his goal of flying, roundtrip, from Chicago to Tampa.
Jerry would recall stories from his youth when open fields spread north of Hillsborough Avenue, and he would hunt rabbits with his Uncle Dan. He enjoyed fishing from Gandy Bridge and on Ballast Point. When he was 16, he made deliveries for Leader Electronics. He remembers driving north on US 19, seeing nothing but pine trees and smoke-watch towers from Route 60 to Tarpon Boulevard—which was the only stoplight on the whole route. When driving west on Route 60, the road was lined with royal palms. He often questioned using the word “progress” to describe all the changes that have occurred since then.
In 1956, his junior year at Plant High School, Jerry joined the U. S. Navy Reserve and after graduation served two years active duty on the USS New, experiencing his first of four Mediterranean cruises. After discharge, and a short stint at St. Petersburg Junior College, he reenlisted for four more years in the U. S. Navy. He served aboard the USS Manley and the USS Leahy, working in the Combat Information Center and was honorably discharged as a Petty Officer 2nd class in 1964.
In the summer of 1962, Jerry was on leave to attend his cousin Cliff’s wedding and met his future wife, Jacquie Van Hecke, who was on vacation in Florida with three friends from Chicago. The couple were married in May of 1963. After Jerry’s discharge, he and Jacquie settled up north. In 1970, the family, now with two beautiful daughters and a third on the way, moved into their first home in Oak Park, Illinois. In this community, they discovered life-long friends, rather than simply neighbors.
In the Chicago area, Jerry pursued a career in advertising and marketing. But, as Jerry put it, after standing for nearly twenty years on icy winter mornings waiting for el trains to take him into the city for work, he asked himself: “What is a Florida Cracker like me doing here?” The next thing Jacquie knew, they were living in Florida where Jerry started his own business, Total Graphics, from which he retired in 2010.
Jerry is survived by his wife, Jacquie; his daughters Madeleine Kuderick, Carolyn Schiffner, and Nicole Hewitt; his “magnificent seven” grandchildren: Brad, Ali, Matt, Ben, Jacquie, Tim, and Maddy; and his sister, Jeanne Davis, and brothers, Doug and Chris Frissell. He will be missed and remembered by all, especially when the sound of a plane is heard overhead.
Due to Covid-19, services at Espiritu Santo and Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell will be private. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to Suncoast Hospice, the American Lung Association, or Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation.
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