Jerome K. Jerry Jonas

Jonas, Jerome K. “Jerry,” 82 , of Wichita, passed away on Wednesday, June 4, 2014. Rosary will be at 5:00 P.M., Sunday, June 8, 2014; Memorial Mass will be at 11:00 A.M., Monday, June 9, 2014, both at Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church. The twin son of John and Margaret Jonas, Jerry was born September 21, 1931 in St. Paul, Minnesota and moved to Wichita, Kansas in 1939. Jerry was a graduate of Cathedral High School in 1949 and received his bachelors degree in physics in 1954 from Wichita State University. After graduation he attended Air Force flight school and graduated in March 1955 as a pilot. He spent a total of 8 years as an Air Force test pilot and obtained the rank of Captain. Jerry married Sally Carney on November 24, 1955. In 1957 they moved back to Wichita where he began working for the Boeing Company. Jerry returned to WSU where he received a bachelors degree in 1961 followed by a masters degree in 1963 in Electrical Engineering. Jerry worked for the Boeing Company for 53 years in engineering, program management and product development. He spent a number of years at WSU in the Senior citizen continuing education program. His fields of study were finance, entrepreneurship, real estate, economics, history, and astronomy. Jerry, better known as Papa, loved spending time with his grandkids and attending their many school and sporting events. Papa cheered for them at various ball fields, school stages, and track meets, and their activities comprised a majority of his social calendar. In his spare time Jerry enjoyed running, bicycling, skydiving, and hang gliding. Jerry was very involved for many years in the College Hill Neighborhood Association. He had intensive involvement as a member of the neighborhood pool task force, which convinced the City of Wichita to rebuild the College Hill Swimming Pool with neighborhood funds after the city had made the decision to close the pool in 1995. He was also involved for many years in the College Hill annual holiday trolley tour. He was preceded in death by his mother, Margaret Staudacher Jonas; father, John Jonas; twin brother, Jack Jonas. Survived by his wife of 59 years, Sally; daughters, Lori Jonas, Lisa (Rick) Watenpaugh, MariAnn (Tim) Heeren, Fran (Craig) Wuestewald; grandchildren, Ryan Watenpaugh, Sean Carson, Danielle Carson (Hank) Tongier, Ben Heeren, Luke Heeren, Jacob Heeren, Noah Heeren, Kyle Wuestewald, Ashlyn Wuestewald, Brogan Wuestewald. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to: Blessed Sacrament Catholic School, 124 N. Roosevelt St., Wichita, KS 67208; Dear Neighbor Ministries, 1329 Bluffview St., Wichita, KS 67218; The Cerebral Palsy Research Foundation, 5111 E. 21st St. N., Wichita, KS 67208. Downing Lahey East Mortuary.