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Gerald A. Vick
"Jerry"

Company B-2
25 Aug 1938- 20 Feb 2022
Place of Death: Arlington, VA
Interment: Arlington National Cemetery

It is with great regret and sorrow that I must notify you of the death of our Classmate, Jerry Vick, on February 20, 2022, in Arlington, VA. 

Jerry is survived by his daughter Elizabeth ‘Topper’ Bruno and her husband John Bruno; daughter Marjorie Ashton and her husband Augustus ‘Skip’ Ashton III; his grandchildren, Captain Augustus T. Ashton IV, William Ashton and his wife Meredith and great granddaughter Hadleigh, Elizabeth ‘Ivy’ Kabbani, Catherine Kabbani, Ensign Jonathan Ashton, Mary Beth Ashton, and Caitlin Ashton and her wife Emily Richards Ashton.  Jerry was preceded in death by his wife Beth and granddaughter Abigail Ashton.

Funeral services for Jerry will be held on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at 9:00 AM in the Old Post Chapel, Fort Myer, VA, followed by burial with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

There will be a luncheon at the Fort Myer Club (Patton Hall) following the burial.

Condolences may be sent to Elizabeth at 15401 Windmill Pointe Drive, Grosse Pointe Park, MI  48230.

In lieu of flowers, donations in Jerry's memory may be sent to Army Emergency Relief, 2530 Crystal Drive, Suite 13161, Arlington, VA  22202-9936.

Well done, Jerry. Be thou at peace.

Remembrances:

Class Memorial Pages\B-2 Jerry Vick.pdf

Obituaries:

GERALD ALLEN VICK
August 25, 1938–February 20, 2022

Jerry was born on August 25, 1938 in Morton Grove, Illinois to Iver and Aileen Vick. He married his wife, Elizabeth 'Beth' Daub, on June 16, 1962 in Red Bank, New Jersey shortly after his graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1961. To commemorate meeting at the Army-Navy football game, they returned together for their 50th anniversary. He lost his beloved wife Beth in 2019; his 57-year marriage was one of his proudest accomplishments.

Jerry is survived by his daughter Elizabeth 'Topper' Bruno and her husband John Bruno, daughter Marjorie Ashton and her husband Augustus 'Skip' Ashton III; his grandchildren Captain Augustus T. Ashton IV, William Ashton and his wife Meredith Weedon Ashton and great granddaughter Hadleigh, Elizabeth 'Ivy' Kabbani, Catherine Kabbani, Ensign Jonathan Ashton, Mary Beth Ashton, and Caitlin Ashton and her wife Emily Richards Ashton; and by his sister Harriet Aileen Vick Gilbert; as well as his beloved cat Holly. Jerry was preceded in death by his wife Beth, his brother Richard, his parents Iver and Aileen, and granddaughter Abigail Ashton.

Jerry served in the Army for 28 years. Early in his career he served two tours in Vietnam and was a Ranger Advisor under the Military Assistance Command. His career continued in the Army Corps of Engineers, where he led flood response efforts in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania after Hurricane Agnes in 1972, served as the Battalion Commander of the 12th Engineer Battalion in Dexheim, Germany, served on the staff for the Joint Chiefs, and Chief of the Army Operations Testing and Evaluation Unit. He was proud of the continued legacy of military service in the family.

After the Army, Jerry had a successful career in real estate at Long and Foster in Arlington and an additional career as a Financial Advisor, working as a team with his daughter Elizabeth at Ferris Baker Watts.

Jerry cherished his family and loved being surrounded by them during his summers at Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, Maine, Thanksgivings in Westborough, Massachusetts and winters in Palm Beach, Florida. He loved his gardening and sharing its bounty along with the beautiful outdoor space with the neighborhood. He was proud to live in Arlington Forest for 54 years. He enjoyed regular workouts at Thomas Jefferson's Community Center in Arlington, VA. He had a deeply analytical mind, loved numbers and analysis and was willing to debate with anyone at anytime.

In honor of his time at West Point he is returning his class ring for the ring melt tradition ensuring that the Long Gray Line stays tangibly connected class to class and generation to generation.

A private burial will be held at Arlington National Cemetery at a future date.

Published by The Washington Post on Feb. 24, 2022.

Assembly/Taps Memorial Article:

Gerald A. Vick 1961

Cullum No. 23385-1961 | February 20, 2022 | Died in Arlington, VA
Cremated. Interred in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington VA.

 


Gerald Allen “Jerry” Vick was born on August 25, 1938 in Morton Grove, IL to Iver and Aileen Vick. After graduating high school, Jerry attended the University of Michigan for one year prior to attending the United States Military Academy. While at West Point, he met his wife, Elizabeth “Beth” Daub, at an Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, PA. Jerry and Beth married on June 16, 1962 in Red Bank, NJ, shortly after his graduation from the United States Military Academy in 1961. They returned to an Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia to commemorate their 50th Anniversary. He lost his beloved wife, Beth, in 2019; his 57-year marriage was one of his proudest accomplishments. 

Jerry served on active duty in the Army for 28 years. Following his graduation in June 1961 he was assigned to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. He attended the Airborne, Ranger, and Jump schools prior to his initial assignment with the 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, KY. He subsequently attended the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA and the Military Advisor Training Academy Course at the U.S. Army Special Warfare School at Fort Bragg, NC. Jerry served his first tour in Vietnam from 1964 to 1965 as a Ranger advisor with the 51st RVN Ranger Battalion. Jerry earned the Combat Infantryman Badge and the Bronze Star Medal with a “V” device for heroism in combat during this tour. The citation read “…Captain Vick again unhesitatingly exposed himself to dangerous enemy fire in order to render first aid to the wounded man and to obtain a radio to summon help from medical evacuation aircraft and from supporting airstrikes… .”

Jerry subsequently served at the Officer Candidate Regiment at Fort Belvoir, VA and the National Military Command Systems Support Center at the Pentagon before his second tour in Vietnam with the 299th Engineer Battalion. His career continued in the Army Corps of Engineers of the Baltimore Engineer District, where he led flood response efforts in Wilkes Barre, PA after Hurricane Agnes devastated the region in 1972. He was responsible for immediate search and recovery operations and then the reconstruction and rebuilding of the devastated areas. He later served with the 10th Engineer Battalion and the Divisional Combat Aviation Battalion Test Directorate with the 3rd Infantry Division, USAREUR. Jerry served as the battalion commander of the 12th Engineer Battalion in Dexheim, Germany; served on the staff of the Joint Chief at the Pentagon; and served as chief of the Army Operations Testing and Evaluation Unit. 

Jerry graduated from the Defense Language Institute and the Army Command and General Staff College. He earned his master’s degree in operations research and systems analysis from the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey and the National War College. He was proud of the continued legacy of military service in the family with his grandsons Gus and Jonathan currently serving as officers in the Army and the Navy. 

After the Army, Jerry had a successful career in real estate at Long and Foster in Arlington, VA. He also worked as a team with his daughter Elizabeth as a financial advisor at Ferris Baker Watts. He continued managing rental properties long after his second and third retirements. 

Jerry cherished his family and loved being surrounded by them during his summers at Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, ME, Thanksgivings in Westborough, MA, and winters in Palm Beach, FL. Jerry and Beth loved to entertain, and he especially loved to tend to his gardens. He shared his beautiful outdoor space for evening social hours and his bounty from the garden with the neighborhood for years. He was proud to live in Arlington Forest for 54 years, and he enjoyed regular workouts at Thomas Jefferson Community Center in Arlington. Jerry was a voracious reader, had a deeply analytical mind, loved numbers and analysis, and was willing to vigorously debate with anyone at any time. 

Jerry cherished his time in the Army. He believed the breadth of experience, leadership opportunities, ongoing training, and learning opportunities could not be matched in any other organization. He was laid to rest with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery in July 2023. 

In honor of his time at West Point he is returning his class ring to the West Point Association of Graduates’ Class Ring Memorial Program for the annual Ring Melt. Jerry strongly believed in ensuring that the Long Gray Line stays tangibly connected from class to class and from generation to generation of graduates.