Gerald Shurts

Gerald DeMar Shurts was born on Jan 5th, 1941 in Gooding, Idaho to Benjamin Franklin Shurts and Bernice Elizabeth Lamb. He passed away at 81 years on Saturday, Nov 12, 2022, six weeks before he and Novie's thirty-seventh anniversary. He is survived by a large, loving family, including his wife Novie, 2 brothers Gene (Eugene) and George, and 8 children, Suzanne, Karl, Lynelle, Doreene, Cynthia, Matt, Doug, and Ross. He has 23 grandchildren and 4 great-grandchildren.

Jerry, as his friends and family knew him, grew up in Lebanon, Oregon, a small town east of Corvallis in a small house that his dad slowly built and expanded over the years. They had a small farm on that property where he learned hard work and how to take care of cows and chickens which came in handy later in life.

He had a passion for all kinds of sports throughout his entire life, but especially enjoyed bowling, golf, and basketball which led him to play on the high school team at Lebanon High School where he was one of the tallest players at 6’4”. He graduated from Lebanon High School in 1959.

He later started attending Brigham Young University where he studied Physical Education, and Driver and Safety Education. It was there on campus where he met his first wife, Sandra Ann Smith. They were later married in May 1964. It was there in Provo, Utah that their first two children Suzanne and Karl were born. Shortly afterward in May of 1968, he graduated from BYU and they all moved to Warrensburg, Missouri where he enrolled in a Master's program in Safety Education at the University of Central Missouri. After graduating from that program in May of 1969, they moved to Greenville, South Carolina where he started his career as an Industrial Health and Safety Engineer. It was there that Lynelle, Doreene, and Cynthia were all born into the family. He especially loved that house and property, where they lived for several years, because of all the space with room to grow a garden, let the kids run around, and just experience the joy of childhood.

The family then moved to Augusta, Georgia for about a year before moving to West Jordan, Utah where he started working for NL Industries, close to the Great Salt Lake. They lived there for several years on a property large enough to support a small farm with a large garden, a milking cow, lots of chickens, some turkeys, pigs, rabbits, and even a horse for a short period of time. It was there in West Jordan that Doug and Ross were born, bringing lots of fun and excitement to their parents and siblings.

Later in 1982, he moved the family from their farm in West Jordan to a nice house in a subdivision in Kingwood, Texas. Later in 1984, Sandra and Jerry decided it was in their best interest for the union to be dissolved. Later he met and married Lanova Kay Ruch (Novie) on December 25th, 1985. He then later adopted Novie’s son, Matt, making him the proud father of 8 children.

Jerry and Novie moved around a lot together due to the ever-changing oil industry in which he worked, living in various places including Texas, Louisiana, Oregon, and California. They enjoyed traveling across the country on all kinds of vacations, visiting lots of scenic places, especially temples and national parks. They would visit his children on these trips as much as possible and the kids would come to see them as well whenever they could. He continued his enjoyment of sports overall and spent many enjoyable hours at the bowling alley and the local golf course with many of his close friends.

Jerry was a strong, faithful member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, serving in many positions over years, giving him the opportunity to bless the lives of those in his local congregations. Over the years, his testimony of the Gospel was slowly strengthened by his steady, persistent faith in Jesus Christ, and his desire to live his life as a true disciple of our Savior. He demonstrated this whenever he could by lending a helping hand, sharing his beliefs and faith when he could, and serving whenever and wherever he was needed.

He had a loving, contagious smile and will be sincerely missed by everyone who knew and loved him. He loved all of his children deeply and we all know that he is now in a much happier place, free of pain and suffering, where he can enjoy the loving, welcoming arms of his parents, grandparents, and his Uncle Henry, who he especially loved and admired. We all love you and miss you terribly, Jerry. God be with you ‘til we meet again.

A celebration of Jerry’s life will be held at the chapel of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on 210 Livingston Ave, Placentia, California at 11:00 am, Saturday, the 19th of November, 2022.

For those unable to attend in person, you can join this Zoom link to listen to the service: https://zoom.us/j/94145110306?pwd=OXdJcjQwd29uRndIY1BHd3dWVzRGUT09\