Gerald "Jerry" Burroughs Truitt Jr.

Gerald “Jerry” Burroughs Truitt, Jr., 88, of Salisbury, MD died Tuesday, April 12, 2016 at Coastal Hospice at the Lake. He was born July 20, 1927 in Philadelphia, PA. He was the son of the Late Gerald B. Truitt, Sr. and Margaret Atchison Truitt, formerly of Ocean City, MD. He attended public schools in Philadelphia and graduated in January 1945 from John Bartram High School. He enrolled in Dairy Husbandry (during the war years Penn State had an accelerated semester program). While at Penn State he was in the ROTC Program. Finishing his freshman year he was inducted into the U.S. Army in October of 1945 in the Medical Corp. He was discharged in 1947 with the rank of T-5. Returning to Penn State he graduated in 1950 with a degree in Agricultural Economics. His parents had moved to Ocean City, MD in 1947 where he lived from 1947 until moving to Salisbury in 1952. He met Jean Winter Owens and they were married May 1, 1954. He had two sons, Gerald B. Truitt III and John Winter Truitt. His first job after college was with Martin-Dickson Lumber Company of Port Elizabeth, NJ; inspecting piling and structural timbers on the Eastern Shore that were sent to Port Newark, NJ to be treated. When the company went out of business he became a salesman with Worcester Fertilizer Company in Snow Hill, MD. In 1958 he got into agricultural banking with Farm Credit in Salisbury, MD. When Maryland National Bank was formed in 1962 he joined their agricultural department covering the Eastern Shore and Southern, MD. He spent 15 years with Maryland National Bank and joined Equitable Bank when they took over Truckers and Savings Bank where he stayed for nine years. Active in the Delmarva Poultry Industry Inc. (DPI) over the years when the assistant Executive Directors position became available he applied for the position and was hired and within a year the Executive Director retied and he was hired for that position. After 15 years with DPI he took part-time employment as Director of Public Information and Legislative Affairs before retiring. Active in many agricultural organizations he was given a number of awards including the Schofield Award in 1966 given by the Poultry Science Department at the University of MD for his work with the Maryland State Egg Council and the Delmarva Poultry Industry. He received the Frank Gordy Distinguished Citizen Award for his work with the Shore Poultry Industry. He was a member of Wicomico Lodge #91 in Salisbury serving as Worshipful Master in 1962. In February of 2016 he received his 60 year membership pin. He was a member of Boumi Temple Shrine in Baltimore. An active volunteer at Deer’s Head Hospital, he often brought his dog Kira over to visit as a member of Pets on Wheels. A life-long Episcopalian, he became a member of St. Peters Episcopal Church in Salisbury in 1962 and sang in the choir for 10 years. He was a member of the Vestry and served as Senior Warden and a number of committees over the years. He was a member of the finance committee at his death.