After a morning filled with family and friends saying private moments of goodbye and love to Jerry and each other, at 11:02am CST the doctors removed the breathing machines and medicines from Jerry.
Surrounded by a warm circle of love that encompassed two rooms and a waiting room - we gathered around Jerry offering words of encouragement and love for him to make his journey safely and quickly. Laughs were shared, I still tried to make a joke (and failed) and we all gave Jerry our energy and love to move on to the next phase.
After a little over 2 hours, at 1:15 pm CST on Friday, January 30th our dear Jerry has departed this Earth for a higher place. He is now resting peacefully and surrounded by love ones that have gone before him.
Rest in Peace dear brother, son, uncle, cousin and friend.... you will be missed more than you can possibly know. You will never be forgotten.
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Jerry my friend you will be missed and will be remembered always. Rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGod be with you and your family Jerry. I never met you Sherri but from your wonderful blogs I felt part of your family. Tamara Kingston
ReplyDeleteMuch love to the Cahill family and all of Jerry's friends. My heart has been breaking over and over again these past few weeks. Peace be with you. I will try to find my peace in knowing that I have a super awesome angel watching over me now.
ReplyDeleteShellie, thank you so much for keeping up this blog.
Jerry you will always be with me in Spirit. You truly were a great person and someone I looked up to. Rest in peace and I will see you again.
ReplyDeleteMy life is much richer for having known you. You will be missed but not forgotten. Rest in peace, Jerry.
ReplyDeleteMy sincerest condolences to the family. Rest assured knowing that Jerry touched so many in such a positive way.
To all the Cahills, my day has been filled with prayers wishing Jerry a safe journey. I wish I could be there. Please know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers. I feel honored to have had Jerry in my life.
ReplyDeleteI love you all! Jennifer Barnes
Good bye, old friend.
ReplyDelete-- Charley
Jerry will be greatly missed. He was a very patient, outgoing, unselfish, family oriented, giving person who lived a very proud life. My prayers go to the family during these most difficult times. God Bless Jerry and Family. We will miss you. Rest in peace.
ReplyDeleteBrad Strathman (Colorado Springs)
When Jerry and I worked together I remember I couldn't wait to get there to see him and talk and laugh. We may have done more of that than actual work. On one of his birthdays I hired a singing telegram to come sing to him at work. Turns out this was the ugliest he-woman they had dressed up in a jungle costume. Still funny. Any MANY more memories perhaps best left untyped....I'll miss you Jerry, and always treasure those times. Enjoy your new wings, friend. I love you.
ReplyDeleteGood-bye My Darling. The Will to my Grace is gone, but never forgotten.
ReplyDeleteCahills, thank you for your time away from Jerry to keep all of us who could not be there informed. May your faith guide you through this. Heaven has a new angel.
Ann
My heart is breaking...goodbye my love...you are a gift from God to my life and will be missed dearly.
ReplyDeleteI am praying for your family and friends at this most difficult day that will be etched in our hearts forever.
I'll meet you in heaven someday.
Sherri, keeping up with this has probably been a challenge. Thank You from the bottom of my heart.
Goodbye Jerry; our memories of you will forever be cherished.
ReplyDeleteDear Cahill family, we are so proud to know a family as honorable as yours. Our deepest sympathies are with you.
Love, Mike,Genna and Maria
Dear Cahill Family & Friends,
ReplyDeleteI am so very sorry for your loss. I am sure Jerry is lovingly smiling down from the heavens missing his family and at the same time eternally grateful for all the loving support he was given during his illness. I could envision the scene Sherri described as you all gathered around Jerry during his last moments. What a beautiful and loving farewell gift you gave Jerry. There are no words to ease your deep sense of loss at this time. My prayer for the family is that you will trust that our loving Lord will be there for you in the darkest of moments. I pray that the wonderful memories you have of times spent with Jerry will bring you some comfort. It is true he is gone from this earth now, but Jerry will live in your hearts forever. May the Lord be with you during this difficult time and may he grant you peace within your hearts.
Vickie Weuve, Cedar Rapids, IA
I don't know if I have ever been so touched by the out pouring of love for one person. Sherri, you are Jerry's Angel for keeping us all so close during this journey.
ReplyDelete-Vida
There are no words that anyone can say to dull the pain of your loss. All I can is that we are all praying for you, for strength and healing. Trent, please hug Tanya and tell her it's from me! I wish I could be there to support her and help her through this difficult time but that is what family is for and I know you are all taking good care of each other. Seriously, hug for me, tight! Thank you, Trent!
ReplyDeleteAshley Burchert
Thank you for your selflessness Sherri.
ReplyDeletePeace be to you all; Jerry has earned his eternal bliss.
ReplyDeleteMay God rest your soul Jerry.
ReplyDeleteJerry,
ReplyDeleteyou will always be loved and missed as your will friendship be cherished.. drawing blanks here as tears roll.
Sherri, I dont know how you did the blog but well done. Keeping us all up to date was exceptional.
Thanks again and love you Jerry
Justin and Family
Jerry,
ReplyDeleteI love you and will truly miss you. Rest in peace Jerry!!!!
Safe journey my friend.
ReplyDeleteWe love you.
Trinda, Leon, Parker, Britney and Kevin
May you rest in peace my dear friend. I know you will be watching.
ReplyDeleteSo many thoughts...and all are painfully inadequate. Thanks to the Cahill family for the strength you have shown to us all. And thanks to Jerry for the gift of himself, we are only selfish to have wished for more time.
ReplyDeleteGodspeed.
Jerry,
ReplyDeleteI know you were a special guy when you left a lasting impression on my wife (in a good way), which is not a very easy thing to do with her. She didn't know you a very long time, but she knew you were a very good person and was looking forward for more fun times with you. I'm glad she had a chance to meet you. You will be missed dearly by the both of us. Rest in peace, friend.
There is a special new angel in heaven.
ReplyDeleteSherri, thanks so much for the blog.
We love you Jerry,
Kate and Fred
I've never had the pleasure of meeting Jerry or most of Jerry's family. However, I did meet his sister, Tanya, a very sweet young mother, at my granddaughter's birthday party in Iowa. I have been following the updates on Jerry which were written so beautifully. Truly, Jerry had a "Circle of Love". If he had one blessing in fighting this devastating illness, it was the outpouring of love from family and friends. It must have brought him great comfort. I am so sorry for your loss. Know that you will continue to be in my prayers and thoughts.
ReplyDeleteEveryone at AIDS WALK Kansas City and the AIDS Service Foundation are deeply saddened by the news of Jerry's death. We wish the Jerry's family peace and solitude during this difficult time. The following is an e-mail that was sent out by Michael Lintecum, AIDS WALK Event Director.
ReplyDelete~John Pinkerton, Vice President, AIDS Service Foundation
To: AIDS Walk Steering Committee
From: Michael Lintecum
It is with great sadness and sense of loss that I write this email...yesterday afternoon our friend Jerry Cahill passed away at KU Med. For those who are new to the AIDS WALK Steering Committee, Jerry has been one of our most passionate and hardworking Team Captains for many years. His team, Jerry’s Kidz raised thousands and thousands of dollars over the year for AIDS WALK as well as bringing great awareness to the cause and event. For you that were fortunate to know him as Josh, Alison and I you know that Jerry was a man of great energy, enthusiasm and commitment. He was and will always be remembered as a true warrior of the heart.
Earlier this week I talked with Jerry’s brother-in-law, Trent Rogers. He shared with me that Jerry’s sister, Tanya and the rest of Jerry’s family had already made the decision that Jerry’s Kidz Team would continue. They will walk Jerry’s honor and memory. We will look forward to seeing Jerry’s family and friends in the spring but for now they are all in our hearts and prayers...Jerry was a significant part of the AIDS WALK family and we will miss him dearly. Our sympathy is with Jerry’s family, friends and co-workers.
Michael Lintecum
Event Director
AIDS WALKKansas City
Sorry, I meant to say "peace and solace," not peace and solitude.
ReplyDeleteTrent and Tanya,
ReplyDeleteAll of our love to you and the rest of your family.
Sherri,
Thank you for allowing us to be a part of this touching journey.
We are so very sorry.
Love,
Jeff, Brandie, Colton, and Ava
I did not get the pleasure of meeting Jerry in person, nor have ever met any of the family. But I have had the pleasure of praying for him and family and friends over the last couple of weeks. It's amazing how much this family and this man that I've never met, and probably never will meet this side of Heaven has impacted my life. I can only describe the love and connection that I believe is meant for all of us in the Body of Christ. I would just like to share this video with you. I dedicate this to Jerry and his amazing family:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=7ad927ebdcfe4c89e3f6
To Jerry's family, thank you for sharing this with us. You were incredibly brave and strong and loving and an inspiration. We are amazed at your strength and love.
ReplyDeleteTo Jerry, you will be missed. We hold you in light and love, and know that you are at peace.
Love,
Chris and Amy R.
I am so sad to hear of Jerrys death. We were good friends when I was employed at Burger King in Coralville. He was a dear friend and I can still see his smile even though I hadn't seen him for years. Howver, I know he is in heaven today and sharing his love there. I am so glad I could call him friend. God's blessings to the Cahill family.
ReplyDeleteTo Jerry's family-
ReplyDeleteMy sympathy goes out to you. I learned of Jerry's death through his recent obituary. I had known him years ago when he was a patient at North Liberty Dental. I always looked forward to Jerry's visits. He was such a warm, funny, heart-on-his-sleeve guy. He always made me laugh, and I was sad to say goodbye when he moved to CO. I remember how close Jerry was to you, his family, back then. His stories always involved you. I can tell by reading the blog that you all truly blessed by the love you have for each other. I will never forget Jerry. May your many memories of Jerry bring all of you peace.
~Janet Albert
Jerry,
ReplyDeleteIt is so hard to believe that you have passed. You have been such a great friend and inspiration to our entire family. You will forever be in our hearts, thoughts, prayers, and memories. R.I.P.
With love,
Kevin, Dawn, Josh, and Hope-Marie
P.S. Jerry, I keep a picture of you in my pocket at all times that way when times get tough, I can pull that picture out and with in an instant have a smile on my face.
and remember "When you see a penny on the ground heads up its good luck, you pick that penny up because you may never know when you may need it"
Love,
Hope-Marie