Geraldine Loris Williams, “Jerri” of Portland, OR passed away at the age of 86, on June 24, 2016.

Jerri Williams

Geraldine Loris Christy was born April 26, 1930 in Glendale, CA. She was raised with her younger sister Arlene. She had four children: Kathy, Marci, Don, and Beth, five grandchildren: Amy, Sara, Jenny, RJ, and Lindsay, four great grandchildren: Mariah, Hannah, Emily, Dylan, Amelia, and Max. She also had six cousins and eleven nieces and nephews.

Jerri and Arlene had a happy childhood with their parents; they lived close to the southern California beach and Hollywood. The family moved to Salem Oregon when Jerri was fourteen where she graduated from Salem High School. She met Don Merrill Sr. when she was eighteen, married him when she was nineteen; and together they had four children. They moved to Portland within a few years, and then she spent the rest of her life there.

As she was raising her children, she worked in several restaurants and in a Beauty shop. She taught 4-H cooking classes to young girls and sold Avon products. When she was in her late 40’s, she went back to school and graduated from Portland Community College with an associate degree in social work. She worked as social worker and an activity director for a number of years. She sold Mary Kay cosmetics for about thirty five years. Jerri was industrious and entrepreneurial; she was always coming up with some new idea. All of her children inherited that entrepreneurial spirit.

In her later life, she started a bread ministry; delivering day old bread from several Portland grocery stores to homeless shelters and women’s shelters. She did this for about ten years; she became quite well known in Portland for this.

Jerri was a positive and an outgoing person; she loved people. Everyone that she met was a potential friend to her. She had a heart of compassion, and she loved to help people.

She was a strong person with a persevering attitude; she was an overcomer with a leadership and mentoring ability. She was tenacious and resilient.

Jerri became a Christian at the age of 15; she loved the Lord with all her heart. She also had a strong evangelistic gifting. She was always very involved with her church, and she loved being a part of the fellowship. She was deeply devoted to God, and she knew the forgiveness and grace of God.

She believed in people, and she loved to encourage others. She had a great sense of humor and she loved to laugh and to laugh at herself. She was always a very beautiful woman with a great sense of fashion. She loved to dress up and to always look her best.

She enjoyed parties and gatherings. Everyone enjoyed her cooking and hospitality skills; she knew how to entertain people and to make them feel welcome in her home. She had a charismatic personality and a heart of gold.

Jerri loved her family intensely; she loved her children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, nieces and nephews. She always knew what each one of them was doing and loved to keep up with their lives. She was always so proud of them. She carried pictures of her family wherever she went, showed them to people and bragged about whatever they were up to.

Jerri had a larger than life personality; she touched countless people in her life. We are blessed to have known and loved her.

A memorial service will be held Saturday, July 2, 2016 at 11:00 am at New Testament Christian Church 7404 SE 57th Ave. Portland.