Gerald (Jerry) Waldvogel

Gerald T. Waldvogel

Gerald Tucker (Jerry) Waldvogel was born November 7, 1936 in Los Angeles, California, to Deluce Edward and Norma Waldvogel.  He was the second of eight children.  As a child he moved around quite a bit, spending time living in California and Utah.

He graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1954 and joined the Army.  He went to basic training, and then went to the military’s Monterey language training center, where he learned Romanian.  He was then stationed in Germany.  He married Patricia Hogan on May 14, 1956 and they spent the first 18 months of their marriage in Bad Aibling, Germany.  They were sealed in the Bern, Switzerland temple on May 17, 1957. 

After they returned from Germany they settled in North Hollywood, California and their three children, Jerilyn, Julie, and David, were born over the next several years.  Jerry was a faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and he held many callings in the Young Men’s program, including coaching young men sports teams.  He especially loved teaching, and taught many classes in the Elder’s quorum, and the Gospel Doctrine class in Sunday School.  He twice served as a member of a bishopric, including in the Centerville singles’ ward.  

Jerry loved sports, and spent many hours both watching and playing.  He played basketball and softball with the church for many years and enjoyed many long-term friendships with his teammates and their families.  He loved watching sports with family and friends, especially BYU football, major league baseball, golf, and basketball.

He took up golf to endear himself to his father-in-law and had a lifelong love and appreciation of that game.  Like everything he did, he had a passion for the sport and for spending time with all his friends and family that he taught to love the game.  When the golf channel came into existence, Pat ordered it for him, and he would spend time watching golf matches, both past and present, and had an encyclopedic knowledge of golf and other sports as well. 

He would travel to Phoenix to watch his granddaughters play golf in high school tournaments, and he was the most patient of instructors.  He also learned to ski while living in California and taught all his children and many others to enjoy the sport.

All the men in his family were electricians and he spent many summers as a teen and adult working on job sites with his dad, uncle, and brothers.  However, Jerry wanted to go to college and have a career as a teacher.  Before he enlisted in the army, he briefly attended Brigham Young University.  After returning from Germany, he continued his education at San Fernando Valley State College (now California State University, Northridge) and completed his Bachelor’s Degree in physical education in 1962.  He and Pat moved to Provo, Utah in 1962, where Jerry received his Master’s Degree in Physical Education in 1964. 

His first teaching job was as a physical education teacher at Sutter Jr High School in Canoga Park, CA.  He also occasionally taught both Health and History there, and started working towards his counseling credential and administrative credential. Because of his interest in pursuing school counseling and administration, he left Sutter and worked at San Fernando High School (where he had attended for 1 year as a high school student), and a junior high school in downtown Los Angeles.  In 1981, Jerry decided to see if he might have some more interesting professional opportunities in Utah, so he took a sabbatical from the LA City school district to explore the options.  He taught as a substitute at several different schools in Davis County, but jumped at the opportunity to work at Viewmont High School.  He spent the next 20 years at Viewmont as a counselor and coached tennis (both men’s and women’s) and golf during that time. 

Never one to just hang out, after retirement he served a mission at the Church Employment Center in Centerville, working with individuals on their job placement and educational opportunities.  He enjoyed this work very much, teaching was something he always loved, expcept for maybe teaching his children to drive. 

After retirement, Jerry and Pat were able to spend much more time traveling, one of their favorite things to do together.  They spent their time exploring new places, and spending time with their far-flung family and friends. They loved the adventure, and spent time driving across the lower 48 states, as well as visiting Hawaii, Alaska, and Canada.  They were able to see the fall leaves in New England, and many LDS historic sites across the US.  Jerry took his golf clubs with him always, and was able to play golf at many different courses across the country.

He had a regular group of golfing buddies that he played with near home, and probably hit 100,000 balls over the years at the driving range at the Lakeside Golf course in West Bountiful, UT.  

He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren.  He played games, threw a football, baseball, or shoot baskets.  He would teach them to ski or play golf.   His grandchildren have such fond memories of spending time with grandpa doing yardwork, playing games, and being on the golf course.

Jerry passed away April 10, 2023 in Bountiful, Utah after a lengthy illness. He is survived by his children, Jerilyn Coles (Jeff), Julie Fredrickson (Dave), David Waldvogel (Hope), eleven grandchildren (Jennifer, Daniel, Sasha, Lauren, Jordan, Jason, Donnie, Matthew, Ty, Sammie, and Ava), four great grandchildren (Alexea, Jacob, Chloe and Khailo), and 4 sisters. 

There will be a graveside service April 22, 2023 at 1 pm at the Centerville Utah Cemetery

A Celebration of Life will be held June 16, 2023 from 5-8 pm at their home, 882 South 600 East Centerville, UT, for anyone that would like to share memories and stories.