Obituary Gerald James (Jerry) Junek

Jerry Junek of Spearfish died at Ft. Meade VA Medical Center on Tuesday, June 9, 2009. He was 89 years old.

Jerry was born November 18, 1919, in Kimball, SD to James A. and Jocye A Junek. The family farmed until their livelihood succumbed to the Depression and Dust Bowl. In 193l they sold the farm and loaded their Model T truck with a cow in a crate across the back, a heavy piano with 7 pedals, assorted furniture including a table that seated 12, and 5 crates of chicken tied to the top. They moved to Spearfish where James Junek opened a service station. The Junek family was very musical. At the age of 12, Jerry played the trumpet in the Black Hills College Band, while his older brother Delmar played baritone and his sister Pearl played cornet.

Jerry graduated from Spearfish High School in 1937 and enrolled in Black Hills Teachers College. When his father died suddenly in 1938, Jerry and his brother Delmar went into partnership to continue operating Junek Service. In 1942, they were joined by their younger brother, Clarence; later, by their sister Pearl as bookkeeper. The business is now Juneks Chrysler Dodge and is owned by Jerry's nephew Ron Junek and his son Ryan. The continuous operation of this family business was a source of great pride for Jerry.

While at BHTC, Jerry played varsity basketball, majored in business, was a soloist in the chorus, and enrolled in Civil Pilot Training. He also played trumpet in a dance band for tuition money. In the fall of 1940, he attended the University of Colorado for a Commercial Pilot's license and completed 60 hours of Acrobatics. Great disappointment followed when Jerry learned, while enrolled in an Advanced Apprentice Instructors Course in Cheyenne, WY, that he could advance no further toward his interest in flying because he was colorblind.

Jerry was drafted into military service in March 1942 and served as a crew chief with rank of Tech Sergeant during WWII. During his 44 months of service, he spent 33 months overseas, stationed mostly in the Galapagos Islands, guarding the Panama Canal.

Upon military discharge in November 1945, he married his college sweetheart, Betty Burgess, who was then working in Detroit, MI. Together they returned to Spearfish, where Jerry and his brothers reopened the service station, which had been closed during the war while the brothers were in military service.

Jerry possessed a passionate loyalty for the Spearfish community, and he was a devoted champion of the organizations that help a community stay strong. He was first commander of the V.F.W. Post 5860 and named "Outstanding Young Man of the Year" by the Chamber of Commerce. He served on the Chamber Board both in the 1950s and again in the 1970s and was twice Chamber President. He was elected to the Spearfish School Board in 1957, served for 13 years, and was President for four years.

Jerry served for 13 years on the Board of Directors of the Black Hills Badlands and Lakes Association.

For nine years he was on the Board of Trustees for the United Methodist Church and twice chaired building committees when the church expanded.

In 1978 -79 Jerry was a member of a team that testified in both Pierre and Rapid City before the SD State Board of Regents against a proposal to limit the growth of Black Hills State College. In 1980 BHSC awarded him the Presidential Award.

In May of 1984 when the City of Spearfish considered demolishing the City Park Pavilion, Betty wrote a letter to the editor which sparked the support of others, including Mayor Tretheway, toward a plan to save the structure. For their 40th wedding anniversary, Jerry and Betty hired a band and staged a dance, asking all who attended to donate funds for the Pavilion. The next year, John and Lucille Dunwoody joined Jerry and Betty in a second dance benefit to purchase a new Pavilion roof.

From 1989-98 Jerry was President of the Green and Gold Booster Club at Black Hills State University and has remained very actively involved in raising athletic scholarship funds. He was named Booster of the Year in 1992 and was inducted in the BHSU Yellow Jacket Hall of Fame in 1994.

For 10 years, Jerry sang with the Northern Hills Barbershop Chorus.

Betty died in 1996, and the following year Jerry married Carol Davis, the widow of a long-time golfing buddy. Their plans to golf, dance, and travel were starkly altered in February 1998 when Jerry fell on ice, damaged his spinal cord, and became a quadriplegic. For over 11 years, Jerry and Carol managed this challenge with incredible grace, grit and wit. The family would like to acknowledge the years of exceptional care and nursing that Carol gave to Jerry, enabling him to live a happy, comfortable life, despite his physical limitations. Together they were Swarm Day Parade Marshalls in 2005.

Jerry is survived by his wife Carol; his three children, Barbara Looney (Don), Spearfish, Bruce Junek (Tass Thacker), Rapid City, and Mark Junek (Dinah), Spearfish; and by two grandchildren, Shane and Brynne Looney.

Jerry's ashes will be spread at 10:00 a.m., Saturday, June 13, 2009 in the Rose Garden at Rose Hill Cemetery in Spearfish. Memorial services will follow at 11:00 a.m. at the Spearfish United Methodist Church with Rev. Dar Berkenpas officiating. Arrangements are under the direction of Fidler-Isburg Funeral Chapels & Crematory Service in Spearfish.

In lieu of flowers, memorials have been established for the Spearfish United Methodist Church and the Jerry and Betty Junek Memorial Athletic Scholarship at BHSU.