Gerald Dale McLaughlin

Gerald “Dale” McLaughlin, age 91, of Redondo Beach, California joyfully joined his Heavenly Father when he peacefully left this earth on Sunday, February 2, 2025 while at his home in his own bed with his two children Kim & Jeff by his side.

Dale was born in Akron, OH and entered this world on July 13, 1933 as an 8 lb. bouncing baby boy, the youngest son of George Stanley McLaughlin of Stony Bottom, West Virginia and Nila Lea McLaughlin (nee Whitson) of Townsend, Tennessee.

During Dale’s formative years, he and his brother Don, along with their cousins Kenny & Joyce, were raised by their grandmother, Cordie Mae McLaughlin (nee Townsend) high up in the hills of Stony Bottom, WVA. She is the one who instilled in Dale the love of the Lord. The family was so poor that they didn’t have indoor plumbing, so they used an outhouse and their grandmother cooked on a wood burning stove. It was a simple life and even though the family was poor, Dale had many fond memories of his childhood (including shooting his brother Don in the leg with a BB-gun by “accident” when Don walked in front of a paper Dale was aiming at). His grandmother made their summer play clothes from flour sacks and they had shoes purchased out of the Sears & Roebuck catalog for them once a year when school started. One of Dale’s vivid childhood memories of that time was the family listening to Winston Churchill on the radio during WWII.

Dale was always a very good student and he did so well in school that he was moved up 1 grade, which meant that he and his brother Don (who was a year older) both graduated high school together the same year.

Throughout his whole life Dale was an avid sports enthusiast. He loved to play sports of any type, especially football, basketball, baseball, bowling and golfing. When he was a Redondo Beach fireman, the only injuries he sustained on the job were from playing basketball while on duty (a broken finger he patched up with Popsicle sticks and a broken arm). But his true love was golf. It was a challenge he enjoyed pitting himself against, even his putting game. Even up until the last couple of days of his life, Dale played indoor basketball and even while being physically frail and at 91 years old, he still managed to make many more baskets than he missed.

As gentle and kind as Dale was, he was also a fiercely competitive person. Anyone who played cards with him could attest to that. His wife Jane’s nickname for him when playing cards was “slick-pig”. He also had a dry sense of humor and loved to tease family and friends. Everyone had to be on their toes around Dale. He loved meeting young people as well. They brought him such joy, no matter what age.

Dale and Jane first met in Stony Bottom, WVA when Jane moved up there as a teenager to live with her older sister Maude. They dated for around 7 years before they married. During that time, Dale moved out to Los Angeles in the late 1950’s to get to know his mother Nila better, as she had left he and his brother Don when they were very young boys. While Dale was living in L.A., Jane came to visit and it was then that Dale asked her to marry him. She agreed and on September 5, 1959 they were married. They shared a lasting, true and abiding love for one another. They were each other’s best friend and took care of each other. They loved each other, supported each other, pushed each other and raised two children together in a warm, loving and safe home environment that they created together. Their oldest child Kim was born in 1960 and their son Jeff in 1968. Dale loved to tell people that he and Jane were married on September 5th and their daughter Kim was born on September 17th……1 year later of course.

In 1990, after Dale retired from the fire department, he and Jane moved back to West Virginia where they both were originally from. They lived there until Jane’s passing in 2006. Dale subsequently returned to Los Angeles in 2007 to be with his children Kim & Jeff. He stayed with Kim and her husband Tommy the first year back and they had many great times together and were blessed to engage in bible studies during that time. But for the past 16 years, Dale lived with his son Jeff. They had a wonderful time together being roommates and they were able to share with each other so many different experiences, especially the last 7 months of Dale’s life. Jeff would tell Dale all the time, “You are my best friend.” As sad as the family was that Jane was no longer with them, they also had the blessing of physically being together again, including Kim’s husband Tommy.

Not only was Dale blessed with a loving family, but he had so many friends that became his family as well and loved him dearly. Firemen, friends from his church and others that he met through his kids. He made an impression and impact on everyone who knew him. No one was a stranger to Dale and he genuinely wanted to know everything about them. And anyone who was ever privileged to hear Dale pray will never forget how meaningful and uplifting those prayers were. They were true conversations with God.

Like most men at the time, Dale worked in the aerospace industry when he was in his twenties. Then, in 1965, he became a Redondo Beach fireman and that was the career he cherished until he retired in 1988 after having a heart attack. He ultimately advanced up to an Engineer position. He said he was content where he was, he didn’t want to advance further than he had. Without a doubt, Dale’s the most significant accomplishment while being a fireman was how many of his fellow firemen he introduced to God. He started and maintained bible studies at the firehouse and was there to help shepherd many of his fellow firemen in their own spiritual journeys. Nothing gave him more joy and purpose than doing that.

Dale was a true and faithful follower of God. His whole life is a testimony to how important it is to keep God as the focal point of person’s life. He had a way of ministering to people that was organic, inoffensive, kind and loving. He never forced his point of view on someone, but rather genuinely asked them their opinion and shared his beliefs in a way that was thought provoking and profound. His whole life was dedicated to the glory of God, and to that end he literally memorized his favorite book of the bible, Romans, and shared it with anyone who would listen. His joy in his faith blanketed everyone around him in God’s love. God graced Dale at the end of his life with a peaceful passing. He said often to his children and anyone else who asked, “I am not afraid to die. I want to be with the Lord.”

Some of Dale’s final words to his children on the day he died were to prepare them for his death. He told his son “I’m passing. I’m not afraid to die.” In death, just like in life, Dale’s love of God is a shining example to those around him of what it means to be a gentle, quiet, loving, faithful and righteous person. Not our will, but God’s. After being separated from his wife Jane for 18 years, he has reunited with her as well. What a blessing!

Dale was predeceased in death by his wife and loving partner of 47 years, Patricia “Jane” McLaughlin (nee Russell) who was his “special somebody” that passed away in 2006. He is also predeceased by his older brother Donald L. McLaughlin of Troy, OH; his cousin Kenny McLaughlin of Lufkin, TX; as well as his brothers-in-law Gene Russell of Charleston, WVA & Henry Russell of Summersville, WVA and his sisters-in-law Maude Moore of Stony Bottom, WVA and Molly Ullom of Milton, WVA.

Surviving family members are Dale’s son Jeffrey Allen McLaughlin of Redondo Beach, CA; his daughter & son-in-law Kimberly Dawn & Thomas James Stockemer of North Hills, CA; his two nieces Valerie McLaughlin of Tipp City, OH & Donielle McLaughlin of Troy, OH; his grand-niece Haley Wilson & her children Desmond & Sage and his grand-nephew Damon; his half-brother Jerry Waggoner of Fresno, CA; his cousins Earlene Rogers of Rossmoor, CA; Alberta “Bert” Wingerstahn & Gloria Leonard, both of McKees Rocks, PA; Joyce Dietz of Marietta, GA; his brother & sister-in-law Allen & Brenda Russell of Milton, WVA as well as numerous other nieces and nephews across the country.

A memorial service for Dale will be held on Thursday, February 20, 2025 at 10:00 AM at Lighthouse Memorials & Receptions, 901 Torrance Blvd, Redondo Beach, CA 90277. A reception will immediately follow at the Bluewater Grill in Redondo Beach. Interment to follow on Tuesday, March 4, 2025 at White Chapel Memorial Gardens in Barboursville, WVA.

Contributions in Dale’s memory may be made to Caring House l Non-Profit Hospice Care, Torrance, California US, https://www.yourcaringhouse.org/donations.

Contributions in Gerald's memory may be made to Caring House l Non-Profit Hospice Care, Torrance, California US, https://www.yourcaringhouse.org/donations.