Obituary of Gerald "Jerry" D. County

Gerald “Jerry” Dean County was born on December 30, 1941 in Sterling, CO to Joseph and Evelyn (Squire) County. He was welcomed home by brothers Miles and Richard (Dick). Soon after, sister Audrey completed the family. Jerry was raised in Merino, CO on the family farm. In elementary school, Jerry was in a play and played Ralph Edwards, TV star from the show This Is Your Life. While in high school, Jerry became good friends with the principal who would send Jerry on errands. Jerry would complete the errand then go to the pool hall for the rest of the day. Therefore, in order to graduate, he had to take a test at the end of his senior year because he missed so much school. He graduated in 1959. After high school, he enlisted in the Army and was stationed in Texas. He was honorably discharged in December of 1962. Following the Army, he attended Northeastern Junior College for two years. While living in Merino, he worked as a paperboy in Sterling. One of his deliveries was to the home of Lucy Carpenter who had a cute daughter named Bev. Lucy invited Jerry out to the house frequently and told Bev “you better marry that County boy because he’s ambitious” so she did. They married December 20, 1964 in Stratton, CO. Bev remembers picking up a hitchhiker on their way back to Denver after getting married and she was so excited because she got to sit close to Jerry. To this union, Geoffrey (Jeff) Dain was born in 1967 and Jodean Daina became part of the family in 1971. While living in Denver, Jerry worked as a baggage handler for Continental Airlines. He then went to work for Western Electric as an accounting analyst and later, with two partners, formed GCK Services, a data processing and bookkeeping company for pharmacies. Jerry started going to night school at University of Colorado-Boulder to pursue a career in Accounting. He graduated in 1970. In 1980, Jerry joined Noel Winfrey to form Winfrey & County and moved his family to Burlington. After doing taxes for many years, Jerry told Noel he wasn’t spending another winter in Burlington. Jerry hired Jennifer Hays to take over his role during income tax season and after a few years, she joined the partnership in 2012. After moving to Burlington, Jerry joined the Burlington Rotary Club and he enjoyed overseeing the Rooster Roundup program for several years. Jerry had a passion for traveling, sports, camping, fishing, and waterskiing. Jerry enjoyed teaching many family and friends how to water ski. Throughout his life, Jerry became an accomplished fastpitch softball and racquetball player. He and Bev traveled all over, including Belize, Roatan, Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Bahamas, Mexico, and numerous places throughout the United States. Jerry and Bev utilized just about every known method of camping. They transitioned from tent to VW bus, popup, pickup, fifth wheel, and eventually a bus, which they referred to as the “unit”. One of their favorite places in the U.S. was Rockport, Texas, where they took their RV and spent several weeks a year. For the last several years, Jerry and Bev spent their winters in Surprise, AZ, initially in their unit and the last eight years in their villa. Jerry got to pursue his #1 passion year round golf. He also became unbeatable in the local pickle ball community. As competitive and athletic as he was, one of his greatest joys was watching his grandkids compete in all their activities. Jerry passed away peacefully on Monday, June 22, 2020 at the Kit Carson County Memorial Hospital in Burlington. He was 78 years old. Jerry will be dearly missed by his wife Beverley County of Burlington, CO; son Jeff and his wife Jill County of Burlington, CO; daughter Jodean County of Meeker, CO; grandchildren Jenna Satterly and husband Michael of Lincoln, NE; Jasmine Mlakar and husband John Jr. of Meeker, CO; Jade Trahern and husband Jake of Burlington, CO; Jett County of Lincoln, NE; and Justine Roop of Meeker, CO; great grandchildren Jameson Mlakar, Jaxton Carillo, Tatum Satterly, and Baby Trahern; brother Dick and sister Audrey, and many other family and friends. Jerry is proceeded in death by his parents and brother Miles. Memorials may be made to Prairie Pines Golf Club or Caring Hands Hospice in Jerry's memory and may be left at or sent to the Bank of Burlington, PO Box 427, Burlington, Colorado 80807.