Skip to content

Jerry Hannah

Jerry L. Hannah of Peoria, Arizona, died on February 25, 2017 at the age of 84 due to complications of stomach cancer.

A memorial service will be held in Sun City, Arizona on March 25, but Jerry’s ashes will be buried in the Hannah family plot in Arlington Cemetery in Moville at a future date.  A notice will be published in this paper prior to that ceremony, in hopes that the family could meet those who knew him.

Jerry was born on July 28, 1932 in Moville, Iowa to Bertha Marshall Hannah Schultz and Harvey Keith Hannah.

Jerry played football, basketball, baseball, ran track, and played the trumpet in the marching band for Moville High.  He often relayed stories of swimming in the sandpit, hunting with his buddies, eating at the diner, and tagging along with his brother.  He earned his spending money mowing lawns for $1 per lawn and roofing alongside Cliff and Pauline Pedersen.

He lived in Moville through his childhood. He graduated from the Electronic Radio Television Institute in Omaha before marrying Dorothy Schrepel in 1951.  In 1952, he enlisted in the Army, where he served as a radio repair instructor while stationed in Augusta, Georgia.

He took advantage of the GI bill and graduated from Iowa State University in 1959. He promptly moved to Colorado to begin his career as a sales engineer selling large scale technology equipment.

Jerry was employed by Honeywell, Colorado Instruments, and PLS & Associates before developing a partnership named Hannah-Hill.

Jerry and Dorothy settled in Broomfield, Colorado, where they lived for 22 years and raised five children.  They relocated to Sun City, Arizona in 1982.  Jerry retired in 2000 to care for Dorothy until her death from Alzheimer’s disease in 2010.

Jerry was an inventor and tinkerer; a 40 year member of the Gideons; a devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather; and a faithful follower of Jesus.  His hobbies included electronic repairs, playing tennis and golf, garage sales, and charming people with his dry sense of humor and story telling.

While he never returned to Moville to live, he subscribed to The Moville Record his entire life. He longed to read about his great friends like Ernie and Marian Steffen and their kids, his high school, and his nieces and nephews.  He attended his class reunions and reminisced of the simple life of his beloved hometown.

He is survived by a sister-in-law, Bev Hannah of Moville; a brother-in-law Warren Hobbs of Kingsley; a niece, Ronna and Ray Wright of Council Bluffs, NE; a niece, Cathy and Jerry Mueller of Souix City; a nephew, Mike and Jodie Hannah of Moville; a nephew, Brad and Kelly of Sioux City; a nephew, Brian and Marcella Hobbs of Kingsley; a daughter, Cindy Hannah and James Reed of Boulder, Colorado; a daughter, Sheri and Jeff Tymkovich of Gypsum, Colorado; a son, Mark and Donna Hannah of Prescott, Arizona; a daughter. Cris and Jim Dilworth of Peoria, Arizona; five grandsons; nine granddaughters; five great-grandsons; and two great-granddaughters.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Bertha Hannah Schultz; his father, Harvey Keith Hannah; a brother, Jack Hannah; sister, Helen Keith Hobbs, aunt Geneva and Benny Hill, cousins Albert Hill and Detta Banks; wife Dorothy Hannah; and daughter Lauri Hannah Jones.

Jerry would appreciate any donations being directed to The Gideons International in his memory.

Leave a Comment