Gerald “Jerry” S. Wedekind
Jan. 19, 1944 – June 5, 2024
It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing of our dad, Jerry “Sparky” Wedekind who died peacefully in his sleep June 5, 2024, in Vancouver, Wash. following a slow decline with dementia/Alzheimers disease. Thankfully he remained on the happy side of this sad disease. He was 80.
Jerry was born on Jan. 19, 1944, in Seattle, a place he affectionately referred to as Snoose Junction. His father, Bob Wedekind, was a master homebuilder and it was alongside his father where Jerry mastered his construction skills while growing up with his two beautiful sisters and mother, Jean Wedekind.
Jerry attended Bothell High School and played a few different sports but loved football. The football field is where Pamela J. Snyder may have first laid eyes on the handsome devil. Pam was a song leader as well as valedictorian of her class. They married on June 11, 1965, starting a beautiful journey together in the Pacific Northwest.
During his school years, Jerry developed some very close buddies, specifically Dennis Snook, Bill Turner, Bill Howard and Rusty Burck. They continued to share life’s journeys until the loss of both Bill’s. These guys were amazing friends, fathers, husbands and humans.
Jeffrey S. Wedekind was born in 1966 and was the apple of everyone’s eye. Heidi Lyn Wedekind came along in 1968 and wrapped her daddy around her little finger. After a few years in the Seattle area, Jerry built the family home on the central Oregon coast at Ten Mile, where he and Pam joined the family business, Sea Perch, Inc.
He worked alongside his mother and father in-law, Harold and Elaine Snyder, and Pam with the wholesale shell business, the RV park and then the Sea Rose Shell Museum, which he built for Pam in the late 1980’s. This was a time filled with so much joy for Jerry and his family, making many lifelong friends at Ten Mile.
During their time at Ten Mile, Jerry and Pam were “surrogate parents” to all of Jeff and Heidi’s friends, as well as a few stray adults. Their house was a place of acceptance, joy, laughter, a safe space, good food, Pam’s beautiful voice, belonging and some darn good parties.
Jerry loved his cars and spent a few years rebuilding Corvettes as well as owning the infamous Pink 55 Chevy. Heidi and Jeff also enjoyed driving Jerry’s cars, with or without permission.
Jerry knew no strangers and made friends along every journey in his life, and he will always be remembered for his easy demeanor and the ability to make a friend anywhere, anytime. Jerry lived large, loved a good story and a good joke.
After the heartbreaking loss of his beloved wife to cancer in 2009, Jerry remained in Waldport for a few years enjoying time with his dog, and his friends, hunting trips with the Waldport Boys (Jerry’s kids) and drinking beer at the Salty Dawg.
He found solace after Pam’s passing being in Alaska with his family, which became a cherished family tradition. Jerry did love to fish, but he also worked on construction projects and whatever else was needed at his children’s Chinook Shores Lodge in Ketchikan, Alaska. His attention to cleanliness kept the boats, vehicles and lodge grounds pristine.
Jerry is survived by two sisters, Carole Knutsen and Jan Kelly; sister-in-law Debbie Petricek; children, Jeff Wedekind and Heidi Bengaard; six grandchildren, Shea Wedekind, Josie Welk, Darcy and Glen Trowbridge, Paul Bengaard, and McKinley Angermen; two great-grandchildren, Ely and Eli Trowbridge, and many nephews, nieces, cousins and extended family.
A Celebration of Life will be held for Jerry on Jan. 18, 2025 (the day before he would have turned 81) at the Adobe Resort in Yachats, where friends and family will gather to share and honor his wonderful life and legacy. In lieu of flowers the family kindly requests that memorial donations be made to the Alzheimer’s Association, a cause close to our hearts.
Jerry will be profoundly missed by all who knew and loved him. His life and stories will go down in history as one of the best. RIP Dad, Jerry, Sparky, Big Jer, Papa Bull …
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