Gerald Douglass

Gerald Sylvester Douglass, 70, of St. Joseph, passed away Tuesday, March 07, 2006 at Jordan’s Nursing Home in Bridgman. A Celebration of Life Memorial Service will be held at 11:30 A.M. Monday at St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, 5020 Cleveland Ave., Stevensville. Friends may call from 10:00-11:00 A.M. Monday at Kerley-Starks & Menchinger Family Funeral Home, 2650 Niles Rd., St. Joseph. Military Rites will be conducted at 11:00 A.M. Tuesday at Fort Custer National Cemetery in Augusta, Michigan. Memorials may be made to St. Luke’s Lutheran Church, Second Harvest or the Salvation Army. Those wishing to share a memory or sign the guest book online may do so at www.starks-menchinger.com. Mr. Douglass was born December 6, 1935 in Monroe, Michigan to Phillip & Virginia (Watson) Douglass. He graduated from Monroe High School in 1953, and from Western Michigan University in 1960 with a B.S. in Education. Gerald took postgraduate courses at George Washington University and the University of Michigan, and the Army Engineering Training Agency in Rock Island, Illinois. Gerald enlisted in the US Army in August of 1953 and served for three years in Nurenberg, West Germany, Fort Knox, Kentucky, and Fort Meade, Maryland. He served as a Management Intern for the U.S. Department of the Interior U.S. Geological Survey from August 1960 until June 1961 when he transferred to the Veterans Administration in Washington, D.C., also as a Management Intern. In 1962, Gerald became a Management Analyst Trainee at the VA Hospital in Hines, Illinois. In 1963, he became Senior Management Analyst at VAH in Sheridan, Wyoming. In May of 1968, he transferred to VAH in Battle Creek as Senior Management Analyst, retiring on July 31, 1998. Gerald was an avid sportsman. He was a life member of the National Rifle Assoc., the North American Hunting Club, and a member of the USGA-PGA Section from1956-1965, and coached golf at St. Philips Catholic High School in Battle Creek. He was an avid duck hunter and a member of Duck’s Unlimited and the Berrien County Sportman’s Club. Gerald also enjoyed fishing, bird watching, and music. On March 12, 1994, he married the former Barbara Vogel Etcheson in Stevensville. Gerald is survived by his wife Barbara; four children-Victoria (James) Towery of Battle Creek, Elizabeth (James) Potter of Kalamazoo, Sonja (Brian) Miller and Stephanie Douglass, both of Battle Creek; grandchildren-Laura Miner, Erika, Nicholas, & A.J. Huggett, Nathan & Andrew Douglass; two great-grandchildren-Victoria & Dalton Womack; two brothers-Philip (Ruth) Douglas of Gahanna, Ohio, Blaine (Angeline) Douglas of Paw Paw, MI; and a sister Caroline (Roger) White of Bellbrook, OH. He was preceded in death by his parents.