Obituaries

GERALD E. MAIR

Easter Lily      Gerald E. ‘Jerry’ Mair, 66, died peacefully on May 1, 2015.

It’s hard to know how many lives Jerry touched. Whether he sold you a remembrance poppy, waved to you from his prime seat at the Memorial Day parade, met you at the door at Careers Industries, shared pride in your Packers and Brewers on his hat, made you a button box, shared his holiday treats with you, surprised you with some creative and colorful words, or all of the above, Jerry made you smile and touched your heart.

His slow-moving physique hid a quick wit and a slight of hand that could pick up a quarter before you even knew you dropped it. His cookbooks, his hat collection, and the tiny treasures he collected in his pockets were the stuff of legends. His kind soul and spark of mischief had a charm to melt your heart: if you received a button box with a quarter in it, you knew you meant a lot to him to receive such a generous gift. If you discovered the quarter was hot-glued into place, you also knew he was somewhere wondering out loud if you had discovered his little surprise, and laughing his mischievous laugh.

Jerry reminded us to celebrate life on a level we sometimes forget. Just days ago he once again reminded us to look for that first spring dandelion. He brought excitement and joy into every day of the year in the ways he celebrated the seasons and embodied the spirit of the holidays to the maximum. He will live on in the hearts of all those whose lives he touched, in every spring’s first dandelion, in the stars and stripes on the Fourth of July, in the songs of Christmas, in the Valentine cupids. We’ll hear his laugh in every Halloween knick-knack that jumps out to scare us; we’ll see his smile when we find ourselves celebrating the little things.

Survivors include his sisters, Claudia (David) Hansen and Mary Lou (Gerald) Peffier; his caring best friend, Juddie Brandes; other relatives and friends.

He was preceded in death by his mother Eleanor, his father James, and brothers Tommy and Jimmy.

A gathering will be held on Saturday, May 30, at Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home, 930 Main St., Mukwonago, from 10 a.m., until the time of Memorial Service at noon. A procession to St. Peters Cemetery will immediately follow services.

Well-wishers can visit www.schmidtandbartelt.com.

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