Gerald Lee Jolly, went to be with the Lord at the age of 83 on March 20, 2026, in Overland Park, Kansas.
He was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 3, 1942, to parents, Glenn Frederick Jolly and Josephine Mary Jolly (née Alfaro).
His life had a difficult start, including the early death of his parents (mother passed in 1950, father passed in 1965). This led to him ultimately being raised in sometimes difficult orphanage and foster home settings. Despite these initial life challenges, he always credited the orphanage (ECH- Evangelical Children’s Home) with saving and changing the trajectory of his life. He had the fortitude to overcome, press forward, and went on to accomplish much, both professionally and personally, and was dearly loved by family and friends.
Key life milestones:
1952 - Went to live at orphanage (Evangelical Children’s Home)
1955 - Went to live with Fred and Ruby Fink in Overland, MO
1956 - Confirmation/Baptism (Calvary Evangelical and Reformed Church)
1958 - First job at Chuck-a-Burger Drive-In Restaurant (St. Louis)
1960 - High School Graduation (Ritenour High School)
1960 - 1962 - College and ROTC involvement in Rolla, MO
1965 - Began 33-year career at Monsanto/MEMC Corporation.
1967 - Married Geraldine Ann Wills (divorced 1984; she passed away 2025)
1967 - Liberal Arts Certificate – Washington University
1968 - 1974 - US Army and US Army Reserves
1970 - Son Scott Wilbur Jolly born (he passed away 2019)
1972 - Son Kirk Paul Jolly born
1972 - Bachelor of Science (Washington University)
1977 - Master of Arts (Webster University)
1970s - Volunteer/Chairman – numerous United Way campaigns at Monsanto
1980s - Volunteer – various organizations serving orphans and troubled youth
1990 - Married Thelma “Toby” Thomas (née Mayo) (she passed away 2008)
1997 - Joined St. John’s (now Pathfinder) Lutheran Church
1998 - Retired from Monsanto/MEMC
1998 - 2026 - Loved spending time with family and friends, traveling, reading, church, and solving difficult crossword puzzles
2008 - 2024 - Volunteer - Pathfinder Church (over 6000 hours of service!)
2025 - Moved to Kansas City area to be closer to family
2026 - Heaven Bound!
Gerald is preceded in death by:
First wife - Geraldine Joachims, previously Jolly (née Wills)
Second wife - Thelma “Toby” Jolly, previously Thomas (née Mayo)
Son - Scott Wilbur Jolly
Siblings – brother Jim Jolly, sister Rita Coon (née Jolly)
Gerald is survived by:
Son
--Kirk (Christy) Jolly of Olathe, KS
Granddaughters
--Jessica (Devyn) Hedgpeth of Hollister, MO
--Rachel (Jonathan) Burkhalter of Raymore, MO
--Sarah (Cameron) Glenn of Ottawa, KS
Great-granddaughter
--Mykah Mae Hedgpeth (due May 2026)
Siblings and their extended families
--Richard (Margie) Jolly
--Leticia (Wayne) Primeau
--Cindy (Paul) Humburg
Stepchildren and their extended families
--Janet (Frank) Zimmer
--Doris (James) Wunderlich
--Sharon (Richard) Decker
--Mike Thomas
His family would like to express gratitude to the great folks at Maggie’s Place and Monarch Hospice for the care and compassion they gave him before he departed this world.
A private family burial service as well as several smaller private celebrations of life will take place. A formal funeral service will not be held.
The Gerald Jolly Challenge
In lieu of flowers/gifts/donations, accept the Gerald “Jolly” Challenge!
He had a lifetime of showing generosity, gratitude, volunteering, and involvement in church. In the same manner, be intentional and selflessly give of your time and/or bless someone around you, maybe even a random stranger.
Offer a gift, give some money, send a card, buy a meal, share some flowers, say a prayer, lend a helping hand, read the Bible, tell someone “Thank you”, or speak words of encouragement into others.
Always try to make someone’s day just a little more “Jolly”!!
About My Dad
some memories and reflections from Kirk
My Dad is awesome! I love him so much and am proud to be his son! Despite the trials that were thrown his way in this life (orphanage living, divorce, predeceased by spouse and one son, eventual cognitive issues, etc.), he pressed on and always stood up for those he loved. His life was an example to me and others of gratitude, generosity, steadfastness, faithfulness, selflessness, and doing things to bless others. He loved to tell stories of his time in the home (orphanage), things he did in the Army, his work at Monsanto/MEMC, his volunteer service at the church, and special time with friends and family.
I will be forever grateful to my dad for a couple of hard decisions he made that impacted my life, specifically in May 1988, which ultimately helped me reverse a negative life trajectory into a positive family-focused, Christ-loving life path. It’s a long story, so I won’t get into details here, but if you ask me personally, I’ll share the story.
Here’s a list of many great memories with and/or about my dad, not necessarily in order:
Built a TV - In late 1970’s, he literally built a TV from component parts, soldering and assembling, and it worked!
Thrill Ride - After much hesitation, my dad and I braved together our first upside-down roller-coaster experience on the now defunct Jet Scream at Six Flags.
River time - Many trips to Meramec River near Cook Station, MO with his friends Bill and Jack for fishing, canoeing, playing washers, playing poker, relaxing, campfires, and more.
Crazy Dad time - He used to do the crazy “hassock” dance in the living room to Bob Seeger and Ted Nugent songs. Unfortunately, this was before YouTube!
Old School video games - When I was younger, he hooked me up with some awesome early systems (Magnavox Odyssey 2, TI 99/4A, and Commodore 64). I mostly focused on the video game function, not the computer function.
Rock and Roll - In the early 80’s, I was mostly into pop music, but my dad taught me the “better” ways of AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and more, mostly due to the awesome records hauls he’d get from Columbia House records. This led to…
Live Rock and Roll – My dad and I shared a lot of live concerts together. The best was going to see AC/DC in 2016. We also saw the Allman brothers, George Thorogood, Jefferson Starship, America, Dream Theater, and Joe Satriani G3 Tour. Another awesome show was for Father’s Day, when I told him we were driving to see my kids in a play but instead I took him as surprise to see a Ted Nugent/REO Speedwagon/Styx show.
Ping-pong, Pool, and Darts – He had all of these in the basement…and we spent a lot of time together there.
Bowling – Dad invested lots of time (and money) in supporting my youth bowling (and pinball) habit as a kid. I still have score sheets that he kept for me in his perfect handwriting style.
Epic beer can/sign collection – Despite never drinking, my dad has the most awesome collection in our basement. Sometimes I’m still sad he ultimately got rid of those.
Lake time – For a time, my dad had a condo and awesome boat on Lake of the Ozarks and had a great time going there.
Cars – Dad never seemed to keep one car too long but had a solid run of Camaros back in the day. He even let me drive his Camaro to impress a date when I was still a brand-new driver. That’s sacrifice right there!
Trips – My Dad and I have taken father/son trips to Laughlin (NV), Memphis (TN), and Nashville (TN). We also had one with additional family members to Las Vegas, NV. All of those have great memories.
Card games – We played cards a lot. My Dad loved poker, and it was a big deal for me as a kid when he taught me and let me play at the table with his adult friends. I was a kid, so he’s spot me the $ for that and let me keep my winnings. He also taught me Cribbage and his favorite 2 handed rummy game called Hollywood Gin. He and I had a yearslong perpetual Hollywood Gin game and as of this writing, I think he still owes me $2.34.
Horse Races – I have fond memory of my dad surprising me with a $20 bill after dinner at Chuck-a-Burger on evening, after which he then took me for my first trip to Fairmount Park to see horse races. I was too young, so he placed my bets for me!
Rubiks Cube – My Dad was so proud when he learned to do this later in life.
Culinary Excellence – My Dad's favorites were probably Culvers, donuts, and cookies...in any order, but he also enjoyed Mexican, pizza, Italian, and even some White Castle. But the most memorable dish he admitted to eating was tuna with grape jelly. I guess he was out of mayo. But his best food mashup by far was grape jelly on a basic sausage biscuit. That's an awesome combo worth trying!
Lists and Records – My Dad was a master at record keeping, keeping notes, balancing checkbook perfectly, and the like. I have folders of just the lists he kept of the authors and books he had read….which was a lot!
Bible Study – He loved to talk about his bible study group led by the Boyds and it was always special the few times I was in town and could join him for that.
Flowers to the Bank – Who gives flowers to their bank?? My Dad did and he did so regularly at the Credit Union. They all knew him and his flowers would get displayed for all to see.
Grandkids – As my kids grew up and had robotics events, plays, music and dance recitals, and eventually graduations and weddings, my dad would make many trips from St. Louis to watch these things happen. We are so thankful for that time.
Secret Money – I remember many times his spontaneous generosity. The best was when he would covertly hand me some cash after visits sometime, and he didn’t want anyone else to know. One time our weed eater died when he was visiting KC, and he just took us to Home Depot and simply bought another one.
Phone Calls – Despite us living in separate cities, one of my favorite parts of my day was always my routine of “calling Dad” on my drive home from work to catch up on life. He loved sharing about what he did that day “up at the church” volunteering, where he ate (he loved Culvers), update on the St. Louis Cardinals, or the time spent with his great friend Laura and/or sister Cindy. In the 1990s, when I was in college and we had to pay long distance, I still recall many phone calls to catch up and how I loved sharing great test scores with him and he’d always say how proud he was of me.
Motorcycle ride – In 2023, I had my mid-life crisis purchase and bought a 3-wheel Can Am motorcycle. I knew my dad had a motorcycle long ago, but I’d never ridden with him. I’d always told my Dad I wanted to give him a ride. Finally in 2025, when he moved here and even though he was already having cognitive/physical decline, I was able to get him out for 4 different rides, and he loved it.
Decline – Towards to end, my dad’s trial was cognitive (dementia/Alzheimer’s) followed by physical decline. While this was hard for him in many ways and he had his moments, there were many instances where his characteristics of gratitude and appreciation was still really strong to those around him, which was an encouragement to us and to those helping with his care.
Dad, I love you so much! I’m proud of you and look forward to seeing you again when the Lord calls me home one day. Hopefully we’ll see many others we know as well! John 3:16, Romans 10:9,13
