Jerome McAuliffe's Obituary
On Sunday, June 12, 2022, Jerome (Jerry) J. McAuliffe, loving husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather passed away unexpectedly. He was a remarkably active and healthy 91-year-old with a zest for life who treasured his family most of all.
Jerry was born on the south side of Chicago to Sarah and John McAuliffe. When he was 9 years old, his uncle offered him his first plane ride, igniting his life-long passion for aviation. Once the flying bug bit, he swept hangar floors to “earn” more airplane rides.
When he was 11, his world–like that of so many Americans–changed when the US became involved in World War II. He followed the news reports and studied maps religiously, tracking all the battles throughout the war. He participated in various community drives to support the war effort, including a special project that involved carving small wooden replicas of aircraft which were studied by pilots to immediately identify friend from foe.
His participation in the Boy Scouts nurtured his sense of adventure and innate leadership skills. One of his fondest memories of scouting was serving as a camp counselor at Boy Scout summer camp, which was especially important since there were so few male leaders available due to the war. His dedication to scouting led to the achievement of the Eagle Scout rank in 1948.
After graduating from St. Rita of Cascia High School, Jerry joined the Air National Guard and attended Radio Mechanic School for 9 months at Scott Air Force Base, IL. This set him on a path that would combine his love of aviation, keen technical mind, and desire to serve his country.
Just after returning home from training, he was picking up his mother who had been chaperoning a parish dance where, just by chance, he met Loralee. After dating for 2 years, he received his active duty orders in 1951 to be stationed at the first Cold War base in France, at Bordeaux-Merignac with the 126th Bomb Wing, moving on to Laon Air Base when it opened in 1952. As Section Head he had far more responsibility than most 22 year olds but also took advantage of every leave to travel around Europe, delighting in meeting new people and enjoying the local cuisine! His travels were more frequent after he purchased his prized 1951 red MG TD.
Jerry and Loralee resumed dating after he returned home in December, 1952 and were married in October, 1953. Jerry had returned to the Air National Guard Base as a full-time aircraft radio technician, but made the big decision to use his GI Bill to attend Illinois Institute of Technology and obtain his Electrical Engineering degree. The first day of college coincided with the birth of their first child, Michelle. By the time Jerry graduated in 1958, Mark and Matthew had joined the family.
Combining his EE degree with his love for airplanes and avionics, Jerry pursued an opportunity in the aerospace industry which was bustling on the west coast, settling in San Diego with Convair in 1958.
As Jerry’s family grew with Marie and Marianne arriving in the early years in San Diego, so too did Jerry’s career see changes. He moved on to Cubic Corp, where he had one of the most interesting and exciting jobs of his career as a Field System Manager on Johnston Island in 1962, working on Project Fishbowl collecting data from the last atmospheric nuclear weapons tests.
After Cubic he opened his own aircraft avionics repair business, Southwest Avionics, first at Montgomery Field and then Gillespie Field. The older children spent many hours helping around the shop since everything the McAuliffe’s did was a family operation. The opportunity to catch free plane rides with customers was an added benefit. By that time, Margaret and Michael had rounded out the family. He had a busy life, but Jerry found time to volunteer as Cub Scout Pack leader, organizing campouts, activities, and Scout Fair participation with the support of other parent leaders.
Jerry continued with the Air National Guard Reserves throughout his career, taking on an active duty position as Electronics Officer with the Battle Creek Air National Guard for four years, finally retiring from the Air National Guard in 1986 as a Lieutenant Colonel.
Retirement brought more time to revisit his greatest interests and take on new adventures. He found time to co-teach an aviation history night school class at Mesa College which generated so much interest, he led 2 WWII British Aviation History Tours, visiting the major air bases in England. In 2005, he wrote and self-published U.S. Air Force in France 1950-1967. This major work documenting often-overlooked history brought great satisfaction to both the Airmen who served there and their families, and the French employees who continue to remember and honor them.
One of the adventures he thoroughly enjoyed was hiking the D-Day Beaches in Normandy. Armed with his extensive knowledge of WWII history and enough French to order coffee and his favorite pastry, he made the most amazing connections with welcoming French people who couldn’t believe he was walking (at his age!) around Normandy by himself. It was such a happy experience he repeated the trip two more times, with the last one when he was 87.
When Jerry wasn’t traveling, he enjoyed reading history books, working around the house, and building plastic airplane models while listening to his favorite music. For all his adventures, Jerry’s greatest joy was his large, extended family, which included family friends. He always made sure everyone felt welcome to the full table, lively conversation, and enjoyed the good food.
Jerry is survived by Loralee, his wife of almost 69 years, children Michelle (Kevin) Hardy, Mark McAuliffe, Matthew McAuliffe, Marie (Rick) Linvill, Marianne McAuliffe, Margaret (Jean-Marc) McAuliffe-Noval, and Michael (Joyce Wei) McAuliffe. His grandchildren include Jason (Shannon), Kristin (Ivan), Daniel, Patrick, M., Ryan, Justin, and Milena. His great-grandchildren include Kiera, Connor, Jackson, and Gavin.
Visitation will be July 11th, between 2-4pm at Clairemont Mortuary. The funeral Mass will be celebrated July 13th at 10am at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene, 1945 Illion St., San Diego, CA. Interment will be at Miramar National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to St. Rita of Cascia High School https://www.stritahs.com/donate or The San Diego Air and Space Museum https://sandiegoairandspace.org/support/donate.
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