Gerald Mock Obituary

Gerald LeRoy Mock, born Jan. 11, 1932 in Whittier, California to Rex & Bettye Mock, passed away on Oct. 2, 2022 at home in Big Spring, Texas. After the passing of his second wife, Katherine Mock, in 2020, he moved in with his son Dan Mock in Big Spring, Texas and joined the Naz Family Church (First Church of the Nazarene).

Married to his first wife Pat Bullock in 1958, he had two children, Daniel LeRoy (1960) and Debra Ann (1961).

In this last year filled with house projects and gardening, Dan says he could barely keep up with his 90 year old dad, who up until August of this year was helping remodel the bathroom, tearing down drywall and putting up shelves.

He was always working on projects, including the most incredible sandbox and playhouse that his beloved daughter Debbie could wish for. He called computers "confusers" but could tear apart anything from a car motor to a VCR and teach us all how to put it back together piece by piece.

Debbie also remembers the time her dad took her and her brother to the San Diego zoo from Pomona. They took the car to the train station, took the Amtrak to San Diego then a bus to the zoo, which of course was a fun time. And then, they took an airplane back from San Diego to Los Angeles because, apart from the zoo, "Dad wanted us to experience all types of travel methods in one day."

His stepchildren from his second marriage are Shawn, Kimerli and Jackal.

Raised during the Depression, Jerry never wasted anything, from tin foil to money, and reused everything from tea bags to dryer sheets. He grew up with his sister Lois, nine years his senior, in a house in Huntington Beach, which would be worth millions today, but which his parents sold during World War II due to the threat of Japanese submarines off the California coast.

Always a jokester, his Pomona High School - Class of 1950 - classmate, Mary Dunn says, "Jerry was known as the class jester." His grandkids remember him like that too. One saying "he was a dad joke personified" and another now referring to him as the "Heavenly Jester."

While none of us can put our Dad's worth into a few sentences, Dan says that his dad was an amazing soul who always put others first. His gift was laughter and he could make a total stranger feel like they had known him forever.

Jerry retired from the GTE Phone Company in 1983 but then later worked at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory for another fourteen years. He would bring home the "bloopers," much to the delight of his grandchildren. One granddaughter credits him with her love of chocolate, while another says that now she can't even stand the sight of it.

He loved Wendy's french fries, tomato sandwiches and veggie subs from Subway. He would order each vegetable separately and enthusiastically instead of just saying "with everything" or "all the vegetables, please." He also swore that his mayonnaise and Cholula (hot sauce) sandwiches made him immune to canker sores.

He loved camping and canoeing, and instilled in all of us a love of nature.

Jerry and his second wife Kathy, to whom he was married for 45 years, were known for always holding hands. They met through the Pomona Valley Single Parent's Club and together raised their joint family in Pomona, California before retiring to Mancos, Colorado. They built their "partially" underground dream home that Jerry designed and in which they lived for 37 years, overlooking Mesa Verde and the Sleeping Ute mountain.

Members of the Church of Latter Day Saints since 1993, their final wish was to be cremated and their ashes mixed together in an urn they had specially made for the occasion. The urn will be buried in their plot at Cedar Grove Cemetery in Mancos, Colorado on August 1, 2023 at 8:30 a.m.

Proud of his three generational military service family, PFC Gerald Mock of Company C, 1st Battalion, 224th Regiment, 40th Infantry Division, was an Army combat vet of the Korean War from 1949 to 1952. His father Rex served as a Marine in WWI, and his son Dan was also a Marine, stationed in Okinawa.

A lifetime member of the Montezuma County Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5231, Jerry was a driving force in establishing the Cedar Grove Cemetery Veteran's Memorial for veterans of all military branches and all wars erected by members of John Derrick Halls VFW Post #5231 on May 30, 2011.

In lieu of flowers or cards, please consider donating to either The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints philanthropy - Family History Library or write a check to VFW Post 5231, P.O. Box 561, Cortez, CO 81321.

Jerry is survived by his 5 children, 10 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.