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0 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? e-edition | subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Jackson County Mental Health will begin White City appointments ... No charges will be filed in double-fatal crash on Interstate 5 ... Free well water testing for nitrate contamination offered in Central Point ... Jackson County Mental Health will begin White City appointments ... No charges will be filed in double-fatal crash on Interstate 5 ... Free well water testing for nitrate contamination offered in Central Point ... Gerald G. Garland Comment MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 30, 2015 at 2:00 AM Posted Aug. 30, 2015 at 2:00 AM » Social News Gerald G. Garland April 28, 1928 - August 17, 2015 Gerald Gasten Garland (Jerry) died peacefully on August 17 at home in Ashland, Oregon, encircled by his family and friends after a long struggle with Parkinson's. He was 87. Born on April 28, 1928 in Oklahoma City to Louis Jefferson Garland and Alma Delphine (Morin), he was the second of three children. He loved the rolling hills of northeast Oklahoma, where, despite the Depression, he enjoyed farm life, school, sports, riding horses, drawing, reading, writing and flirting. His father was killed when Jerry was nine and the family was thrown into turmoil, moving many times before Jerry enlisted in the Marines at age 17. Uncle Sam took him to Camp LeJeune, San Diego, China and Japan before WWII ended, and ignited in him a love of travel. Handsome and charming, he fell for Cherie Ann Smith in 1948 when he returned to Tulsa to finish high school after his discharge from the Marines. And what an all-absorbing love affair they had for more than 66 years. They married on November 12, 1949 and had three children in quick succession, Jerry Jr, Charlie and Laura. While Cherie stayed home with the kids, Jerry went to college on the GI bill and earned a degree in English, and eventually two Master's degrees in English Literature and School Administration. He loved teaching English and Literature, which he did for 25 years in Tulsa and at Pomona High School in Pomona, California, where Jerry and Cherie lived from 1963 to 1990. In 1967, the couple bought (with Cherie's parents) an educational supply store in Montclair, California called the Little Red School House. Cherie managed the business, and in 1977 Jerry left teaching to join her in the business. Working side by side, the couple grew the business to nine stores and mail order warehouses in California and Arizona (Teaching Tools.) They sold the business in 1987 and retired to Ashland, Oregon in 1990. Jerry loved Ashland as the hills and pasture land reminded him of his boyhood home around Tulsa, Okla. In Ashland, Mr. Wonderful, as Cherie called him, indulged his passion for English literature and Shakespeare, tennis, travel, people and singing. In retirement, Jerry and Cherie traveled to the four corners of the globe, read voraciously, helped in the founding of Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays (P-FLAG) and the Abdill-Ellis Center in Ashland, Ore. Deeply involved in the Ashland United Methodist Church, they served as Trustees, sang in the choir, spearheaded the Reconciling Congregation program, and contributed generously. They also sang in the Siskiyou Singers and the Meadowlarks choir at Mountain Meadows. Jerry, or G3 as some called him, had a keen and questioning mind. His deep Christian faith and abhorrence of racial prejudice, homophobia, ignorance and injustice led some to consider him an iconoclast. But for him, an unexamined life was not worth living. He reveled in deep discussions of faith, politics, history, love, life, culture, art, and the English language. Ever a gentleman, he was a generous, loving, kind man, funny and self-deprecating to a fault. Cherie, Laura, Charlie and Gene will miss him more than words can say. He was preceded in death by his parents; his brother, Lewis Gene; sister, Alma Lou McIntosh; son, Jerry, Jr.; and great-grandson, Braiden Allison. He is survived by his beloved wife, Cherie; daughter, Laura Garland of Pomona; son, Charles Garland; and son-in-law, Gene Phipps of Medford Ore.; brother and sister-in-law, Everett and Patty Gould of Seattle; grandsons, Blake and Andrew Allison, Damon Garland; and granddaughter, Charity Garland; great-grandchildren, Peyton, Harper, and Malachi Allison of San Diego; niece, Susan McIntosh of Ft. Worth, Texas; and numerous other nieces and nephews around the country. The family extends a special thanks to his wonderful caregiver Diane Youngs. A memorial service for Jerry will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, October 16, 2015 at the Ashland United Methodist Church, 175 N. Main St. Were he here today he would encourage you, in lieu of flowers, to send a donation to the Ashland United Methodist Church, Parents & Friends of Lesbians & Gays, Lotus Rising Project, or Parkinson's Resources of Oregon. MailTribune.com Writer Posted Aug. 30, 2015 at 2:00 AM You may leave your condolences or share memories by signing the Guest Book here » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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