Jerry Wayne Dycus
April 3, 1938 - November 27, 2024
Jerry Wayne Dycus was born April 3, 1938, at home in Dyer, Tennessee, to (Mattie) Mozelle Dycus and (James) Peter Dycus. He was their third child of six. Jerry was very friendly, curious, adventurous, and rambunctious. He started working at a very young age, picking cotton with his mother and siblings. A few other jobs he had as a young boy, before he could even drive, were working at a movie theatre, a feed mill, and a roller-skating rink. He later drove a cement truck in Union City. When he was 16 years old, he and a few friends decided to drive out to California to see his older brother Bobby, who had settled in California with his family. On the way there, they broke down and had to install a transmission to continue their journey. Mind you, they were all 17 and under. Jerry moved in with his brother Bobby and family upon arrival, and later that same day, he met the girls next door, Elveta and Verla Payne. They invited him to a youth group social at the local church, and I guess you can say the rest is history.
In 1955, Jerry enlisted in the United States Navy and was honorably discharged in 1958. He served on several destroyers. After the Navy, he settled in Stockton, California, where he married Elveta Ann Payne in the early evening of Friday, April 1, 1960—yes, April Fool’s Day. They purchased a piece of property with a home in 1964 in Lodi, California, out in the country where they would live for the next sixty years. He loved living in the country, raising animals, and tending to his garden. Soon, Jerry and Elveta welcomed daughters, Julie Ann and Jennifer Jerry. Jerry was a very active Dad with the girls, instilling in them his deep faith in God. The family attended the Brethren Church of Stockton every Sunday until the girls were adults. Jerry was a Sunday School Teacher and the Sunday School Superintendent. He would chaperone the girls at youth events and church camp. He would also pick them up from late-night activities when other parents preferred not to stay out late. He was the cool dad. Jerry also loved to share his love of Tennessee with bi-annual trips to see his family there.
After working at Laurel Pottery in Stockton for years, Jerry got a job at Marley Cooling Tower Company in 1961. He would hold several jobs at Marley for the next forty years. He started at the Green Chain as a lumber handler and became a maintenance worker, tallyman, sawdust truck driver, supervisor, quality control manager, and safety director. In later years, he traveled for Marley to inspect the quality of lumber. These trips took him to Nevada, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, Mexico, Canada, and China. He had a brief stint as a small business owner for a few years and then returned to the Marley Company. He had worked there for nearly 40 years when he retired. He loved his time at Marley and the lifelong friendships he made there.
After retiring, Jerry and Elveta traveled with Verla and Bill Suggett. They loved their adventures, which took them all over the US and Europe, where their daughter Jennifer had moved to teach. They were able to spend time with Jennifer (Kevin) in their homes in London and Luxembourg. Another favorite destination was Disneyland, as parents and grandparents with Julie and Bill’s family. They loved going to Disneyland.
In 1997, Jerry took on the new role of “Papa”, which he embraced. He was over the moon with the birth of the first grandchild and the others who followed in 2001, 2003, 2006, and 2010. He passed on his love for Jesus to each one by teaching them songs, reading the Bible, and praying with them. He also gave each of them their first driving lesson in Big Red; if you know, you know. The last one learned just this year. As we recently discovered, sometimes these lessons were unsupervised. He was so proud of his five grandchildren.
Jerry loved his sons-in-law, too. He welcomed Bill into the family many years ago. He would also refer Bill for a job at Marley and take him on the family deer hunting trips with Bobby, Bobby’s sons-in-law, and close friends. They did this for years. I don’t think many deer were harmed in these adventures, and they all had a good time. Jerry later welcomed Kevin into the family by taking him on his first trip to Columbia, CA, in over 100-degree heat in Big Red with no A/C (luckily, this did not scare him off). He later preferred Kevin to be the tour guide when they visited him and Jen in Europe and the Bay Area.
Jerry’s love for Jesus was evident until the end. For 24 days at Adventist Health in Lodi, he would witness and give God’s blessings to everyone who came to help and care for him. He loved the Lord and knew this would all work out in his timing. He was a proud member of the Grace Church of Lockeford for over 30 years, and he enjoyed seeing several members, along with the Pastor and his wife, on their many visits to the hospital.
Jerry is survived by his loving wife of 64 ½ years, Elveta; daughter Julie & Bill Coons, Jacob, Emily, and Lucas; and daughter Jennifer & Kevin Rees, Aedan and Abby. His sister, Brenda Crawford of Trenton, TN. He had many nieces and nephews whom he loved dearly.
His parents, Mozelle Dycus and Pete Dycus, and his siblings, Bobby, Harlan, Joyce Ann, and Pansy Jo, preceded him in death.
Jerry will be remembered for his adventurous spirit, sense of humor, everlasting faith, beautiful singing voice, heartfelt prayers, and deep love for his family. His presence will be missed immensely, and his legacy will live on through the memories shared by all who knew and loved him.
SERVICES
Jerry’s celebration of life will be held on December 23, 2024, at 11:30 a.m. at the Grace Church of Lockeford, 13301 Dawson Rd, Lockeford, CA 95237. Gravesite services will be held before the celebration at Cherokee Memorial Park at 10:00 a.m. Pastor Steve Knox will officiate.
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Cherokee Memorial is honored to serve the Dycus family.
