Gerald Lynn Gould (Jerry), a retired US Air Force Major and Vietnam Veteran, died peacefully in his sleep on Sunday, June 23rd. He was 91 years old. Born to George and Opal Gould (née Ranes) in 1933 in South Bend, WA, Jerry was passionate about cameras and airplanes as he grew up in neighboring Raymond. He worked in a photo studio after class during high school and joined the Air Force after graduating from the University of Washington. He had a 21-year career in the military and received the Bronze Star for his service in Vietnam, as well as Air Force and Army Commendation medals.
He was a Hurricane Hunter assigned to Bermuda from 1959-61, penetrating the eye of 34 hurricanes. He was in an aerial refueling squadron, piloting a KB-50J to allow fighter jets and tankers to refuel during flight. For the latter part of his Air Force career, he flew C-130s during the Vietnam War and as a military pilot instructor in Taiwan. His last assignment was at the Pentagon, and he retired in 1977.
He married Jan Wharton in 1961 and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Katherine. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, he packed up the family and moved to Santa Barbara, California, to turn to his other childhood passion–cameras. He attended the Brooks Institute of Photography and earned his second bachelor's degree in 1979. He opened a camera shop, Cameras Plus, in nearby Carpinteria, which he ran for twenty years before retiring and moving back to his hometown of Raymond in 2003.
Though he and Jan divorced in 1988, they remained loyal friends until her death in 2014. He is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth Morse and Kate Parker of Santa Barbara, sons-in-law, Michael and Ian, and five grandchildren.
No formal services are scheduled. Arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Washington. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gerald Gould, please visit our flower store.
He was a Hurricane Hunter assigned to Bermuda from 1959-61, penetrating the eye of 34 hurricanes. He was in an aerial refueling squadron, piloting a KB-50J to allow fighter jets and tankers to refuel during flight. For the latter part of his Air Force career, he flew C-130s during the Vietnam War and as a military pilot instructor in Taiwan. His last assignment was at the Pentagon, and he retired in 1977.
He married Jan Wharton in 1961 and had two daughters, Elizabeth and Katherine. Upon his retirement from the Air Force, he packed up the family and moved to Santa Barbara, California, to turn to his other childhood passion–cameras. He attended the Brooks Institute of Photography and earned his second bachelor's degree in 1979. He opened a camera shop, Cameras Plus, in nearby Carpinteria, which he ran for twenty years before retiring and moving back to his hometown of Raymond in 2003.
Though he and Jan divorced in 1988, they remained loyal friends until her death in 2014. He is survived by his daughters, Elizabeth Morse and Kate Parker of Santa Barbara, sons-in-law, Michael and Ian, and five grandchildren.
No formal services are scheduled. Arrangements are entrusted to Twibell’s Fern Hill Funeral Home in Aberdeen, Washington. To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Gerald Gould, please visit our flower store.
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