Gerald Thomas Blair

Gerald (Jerry) Thomas Blair, age 81, passed away on February 24, 2025. He was born on September 16, 1943 to the late Charles and Shirley (Bardell) Blair in Chicago Heights, IL. He later moved to Lansing MI, where he attended elementary and middle school, and graduated from Everett High School with the class of 1961. While attending high school, he participated in Cross Country and Swimming. He was a star runner for 4 years and in 1960 was awarded the ‘City of Lansing Champion’, as well receiving the Downtown Coaches Club award for leadership and sportsmanship.

After high school, Jerry began working for Oldsmobile and continued doing so for the next 9 years. During his time at Oldsmobile, he also attended Lansing Community College. He met his bride to be, Linda Blair, in 1962 and they married in 1965. This year they were set to celebrate 60 wonderful years of marriage.

Jerry later attended Michigan State University and obtained his Bachelors of Science in 1968 and then his Masters (MSA) in 1969. He shared his skills with Owosso Community Schools where he began his teaching career at Owosso High School, teaching College Prep chemistry. He also taught part time at Lansing Community College simultaneously for a number of years.

While at Owosso High, he combined his expertise in running and teaching and was named Cross Country head coach in 1975. He continuing coaching Cross Country and assisted in Track for several years. He was also responsible for initiating the Advanced Placement program for Chemistry at Owosso High and continued teaching both College Prep and AP until his retirement in 1996. Although he retired from teaching high school, he wasn’t ready to be fully done as an educator and continued to instruct Chemistry at both Lansing Community College and also at Michigan State University for the turf management program. In addition, Jerry worked for MSU’s teacher education intern program helping future science teachers hone their skills. He served in that capacity until the early 2000’s.

When out of the classroom, Jerry enjoyed many hobbies. He kept his love of running alive by participating in many marathons and triathlons. He completed the DALMAC 100 mile bike tour multiple times. He loved fishing, and especially enjoyed his fishing trips with friends to Canada for many summers. He loved attending all varieties of MSU sporting events. He was a classic car expert and enjoyed rebuilding cars and attending car shows. Two of his greatest joys in life were attending his grandson’s basketball games and playing golf, and as recently as the summer of 2024, he and his team won their golf league. He thoroughly enjoyed helping all people with just about anything, including fixing computers and completing home repairs (the more complex the problem, the better).

He will be dearly missed by his wife, Linda Blair, sister Carol Merritt, daughter Jennifer Blanton (Jeff Blanton), grandsons Matt Blanton and Drew Blanton, and many, many friends.

A visitation will be held at Gorsline Runciman Funeral Home at 1730 East Grand River Ave, East Lansing MI 48823, on Saturday, March 1, 2025 from 2-5pm. A celebration of life will be held later at a later date yet to be determined.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions in honor of Jerry may be sent to the Capital Area Humane Society online or at 7095 West Grand River Ave, Lansing, MI 48906.

Condolences and memories may be shared at www.GREastLansing.com