Jerrold L. St.Clair
Dear Dad,
I am writing this letter to you today to tell you how much you are going to be missed. I know people say you are in a better place, that you aren’t hurting anymore, that even though you’ve passed on to heaven you are still with us but I am being selfish right now. I wish I could have moved heaven and earth for you to stay with us but it isn’t to be.
Don’t worry about Mom, even though you two have been married for nearly 48 years, she is going to be taken care of and never alone. We are surrounded by so many people who loved you. The rest of us are doing okay too, just feeling really, really sad right now.
My job, as your eldest daughter, is to write your obituary so the rest of the world can know how great you were in just a few short sentences. I hope the words I write are justice to the life you had. So, here goes.
Jerrold L. St.Clair (see, I didn’t forget the “dot”! You would be so happy) departed this earth on October 3, 2013 at Mt. Grant General Hospital after a lengthy illness. He was born February 9, 1945 to Marietta (Garrett) and Bertram M. St.Clair in Centralia, Ill. He joined a big brother Bertram Frank (Joanne) St.Clair. Later in his young life Marietta met and married the man he knew as Dad, Charles Ross Paul.
This couple had his three sisters: Charla Jo (Al) Paul-Mueller, Cheri Gail (Richard) Bryant of Hawthorne, and Robin Sue (Jeffery) Paul-Woolever of Winnemucca. Jerry (as most folks knew him) lived in many places (Gramma was a chronic mover) but finally settled in Hawthorne in 1965. There he met and married a local girl named Helmi Wright (Trudy) and had three children: Marianina (Marc) St.Clair-MacPherson of Hawthorne, Scott (Rhonda) St. Clair of Hayden, Colo., and Hallie (Paul) Chism of Ridgecrest, Calif.
Jerry was very active in many organizations in his earlier life. He had been employed at NAD Hawthorne as a civil service railroad conductor for many years, until injury forced him into semi-retirement. He was a member of the Bethany Lutheran Church and the Oddfellows of Mineral County.
He had been a member of Mineral County Sheriff’s Posse and later Mineral County Search and Rescue. He also worked many years of volunteer service on the Hawthorne Volunteer Fire Dept. as both an EMT and Firefighter.
Jerry is survived by his wife, Trudy St. Clair, his children, brother Frank, and sisters Robin and Cheri. He also has many grandchildren: Micheale, Brodie and Arianna MacPherson; Angela, Joshua and Garrett St. Clair; Nicholas and Brooke Chism and one great-grandchild, Gaia MacPherson.
He is also survived by many nieces and nephews: Mike, Tony, Marcion, Frankie and Tara; Aimee, David and Marita; Dakota, Ross, Sawyer and Dara.
He was preceded in death by both of his parents Marietta and Charles Paul; his sister Charla and his baby grand children Allyssa Leann and Derrick Lynn. A niece, Charity Anne, also preceded him to heaven.
Graveside services are scheduled for Oct. 18 at 1p.m. in Hawthorne. For those who wish to visit with the family there will be a small gathering in the basement of Bethany Lutheran Church for a little food and drink, reminiscing and probably more than a few tears.
Okay Dad, I know the mushy stuff was not what you were all about, but I wanted you to know how much you are loved and will be missed. It is so hard to think about the years to come without you. I hope you and Gramma are out riding around in that neighborhood in the sky, smoking cigarettes and chit chatting.
Until we meet again, Pop!
Love you,
Nina
