~ IN MEMORY ~
USAF veteran, WA/DL Capt. Duane Bird Gerrard
April 22, 1938 ~ May 24, 2020
Notification with the passing of retired Western/Delta pilot
Captain Duane Bird (Dewey) Gerrard, age 82.
Captain Gerrard joined Western Airlines 01-09-1967 and retired with
Delta Air Lines in 1997, based SLC/030.
For those wishing to contact the family, whitepages lists
the residence address as
638 Elias Rd., Kaysville,
UT 84037.
Thank you,
~ Carol for the PCN
Duane (Dewey) Bird Gerrard
Born April 22, 1938 in Murray, Utah. Received his final
calling to return to his heavenly father on May 24th, 2020.
Dewey was raised in Taylorsville, Utah where he met and
married the love of his life Kay Bennion on September 11, 1959 in the Salt Lake
Temple.
He graduated from Utah State University with a degree in
Aeronautics. Upon graduation he joined the United States Air Force, and went on
to have a successful career with Western and Delta Airlines. He spent most of
his time in many church callings which ranged from Bishop, Stake President,
Regional Representative, Area President, General Authority and Temple President
for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.
Dewey and Kay raised 8 children, and to date have 29
grandchildren and 37 great grandchildren.
He will be buried in the Kaysville City Cemetery with a
private service surrounded by his loved ones.
Please go to www.jenkins-soffe.com where a more extensive
obituary will be provided about this wonderful man's life. It would mean the
world to the family if you would please leave comments and stories about how
this giant of a man has touched your lives.
………………………full obituary………………
On May 24, 2020, Dewey Gerrard as we all know and love,
closed his final flight plan from life. Surrounded by his wife of over 60 years
and his loved ones. He was dispatched for a new eternal flight plan that he has
been diligently planning for his whole life. His new assignment as he called
it, to his lovely wife, Kay is to prepare a place for their rather large family
in heaven.
One of our favorite stories as a family is when Dewey first
met Kay. At Plymouth Elementary in Taylorsville, Utah in Mrs. Munk’s 1st grade
class. Dewey was making a sand castle in the back of the school during recess
when Kay and her friend Sheri came up and knocked it over. Dewey got mad and
threw sand in their eyes, their faces and their hair. And guess what he got to
do? He got to meet Kay, her mother (Granny Bennion) and the principal all in
one day. Not to mention that he got to stand in the corner while Kay went home
to clean up. When she came back and saw Duane (as she still calls him to this
day) still standing in the corner, she went up and asked Mrs. Munk if he could
please sit down, as she was alright now. From that day on, he knew she was the
girl for him, and she’s been keeping him out of trouble ever since.
When he was in High School, he had a football coach that the
boys nicknamed “Nosey Edwards”. If you’re a BYU fan, which he is not, you may
have heard of him. In fact, they might have named the stadium after him. LaVell
Edwards may have been, one of his many mentors that prepared him for his
numerous callings in life. But his father, taught him how to pray, something
that he would do daily for the rest of his life, with humble thought. As a student
at Utah State, one evening he was anxious to get back to school, and after
giving a short and meaningless prayer from his family home, his father decided
to give him one the most important teaching moments of his life. His father
grabbed him by the shoulders and turned to him and said, “Son, do you pray
every night and every morning”? Dewey replied, “Just about, whenever there is a
test, an athletic event or if I’m sick”. His father looked him straight in the
eyes and said “Son, promise me that you will pray night and morning on your
knees, out loud and thank the Lord for the many blessings you have, and plead
with him to direct your life, and to direct you in the path of righteousness”.
He promised him he would and gave him a brief hug. That was a defining moment
in his life because that week his father died and those were the last words
that he heard from his father’s mortal lips. How great it is that he is seeing
his father, mother, brothers and sister again.
At Utah State, he joined the ROTC and the Sigma Alpha
Epsilon fraternity, where he made lifetime friends that we have all known and
loved our whole lives. Not to mention a few colorful songs, that shall not be
referenced. He graduated in June 1960 with a BS degree in Aeronautics.
After graduating, he was commissioned 2nd Lt. USAF. On the
way to training in Bartow, Florida, Dewey and his now eight-month pregnant
bride, Kay drove cross country in a VW beetle that could barely do the speed
limit with no air conditioning. He then was based in Vance AFB, Oklahoma and
graduated in 1961. He also was assigned to the 50th Air Transport Squadron,
Hickam AFB, Hawaii 1961-1964. During this time, he flew various flights in the
Pacific, Asia, Vietnam, and Europe with over 350 combat hours to support the
war effort.
In 1967 he joined Western Airlines, which to this day in our
eyes is “The only way to fly”. He was promoted to Captain in 1978 and became an
Instructor Check Airman in 1979, Project Pilot for the Boeing 767, Chief Pilot
Salt Lake City 1982, Vice President of Flight Operations, Western Airlines, and
in 1983 Chief Flight Instructor for Delta Airlines. In 1991 he became the Chief
of Flight Safety for Delta Airlines. And one of the happiest days of his life,
he retired in 1997.
While Dewey managed a successful career with the airlines,
he also held numerous callings within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day
Saints, that included Bishop for the newly organized Kaysville 12th Ward, and
Stake President for the Kaysville Crestwood Stake.
Upon landing, for his final flight at the Salt Lake City
airport, with two of his son’s in the cockpit, he walked out of the gate only
to find some of the Brethren of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints
who were patiently waiting for him for his new and exciting assignment, General
Authority. We still remember the day that Elder Faust sat our mother and father
down in his office and asked if our mother has ever been to the Philippines.
Her response was “no, and I don’t care to go”. Needless to say, when a member
of the 12 speaks to you, people listen. During their Farewell speech, our
mother gave the strongest testimony we’ve heard, “I will go and do the things
which the Lord hath commanded”. Missing their children, grandchildren and great
grandchildren, they spent 4 wonderful years in the Philippines. The next big
assignment was to be the Temple President in the Dallas Temple. A calling which
we believe was one of their favorites.
During a successful career and all of the callings in the
Church, they managed to raise 8 children. Leslie (Doug) Wach, Brad (Marilyn)
Gerrard, Mike (Adrian) Gerrard, Jeff (Sharry) Gerrard, Julie (George) Hyde,
Michelle (Steve) Bodon, Rebecca (Darren) Frandsen, Jennifer (Mike) Hamblin.
They also fostered 3 native American girls. If you can imagine, they have 29
grandchildren and 37 great grandchildren to date, and all are doing well and
blessed to be in such a large and loving family created by Duane and Kay.
Dewey has many accolades and associations that we would like
to acknowledge:
• Chairman of the Board of Advisories, Aerospace Department
Utah State University
• Board of Advisors Embry Riddle University
• Member of International Society of Air Safety
Investigators
• Air Transport Association
• Flight Systems Interrogation Committee
• Adjunct Professor Aviation Law, Utah State University
• Member Board of Advisors, US Blood Donors.org
As our father was closing his flight plan from life, and
battling Cancer and a massive stroke, our family was fortunate enough to bring
him home for his last few days. This was his last wish, to come home to
Kaysvilla farms and be surrounded by family. He received the best care anyone
could ask for from his family but especially his granddaughters from his three
sons that so tenderly cared for him through the days and long nights. This time
with our husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather is and will be
some of the most sacred and special times we will ever remember. It brought us
closer as a family, it brought us happiness and understanding and made us feel
more Christ like. What a wonderful gift that we will never forget and cherish
forever.
We will miss his broad shoulders, his resounding voice, but
most of all, we will all miss his stories.
The family would love for all of you to share your stories
about Duane B. Gerrard. This would give us as a family a way to commemorate the
life and love that he has shown to all of us.
In lieu of flowers the family requests that contributions be
made to Utah Foster Care, Utah State Aeronautics program or USBloodDonors.org
