BRIGADIER GENERAL RALPH MURRAY JEROME
Brigadier General Ralph Murray Jerome died Aug.
Brigadier General Ralph Murray Jerome died Aug. 7, 2011, in Peachtree City, Fayette County, Ga.
Ralph grew up in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area and went to St. Louis Park High School and the University of Minnesota.
In 1941, anxious to get involved with flying, he joined the Royal Canadian Air Corp in Canada and became a pilot. After the United States joined World War II, he returned to the U.S. and joined the U.S. Army Air Corp. While stationed in Saskatchewan, Canada, he met Luceille Eleanor McConnell, fell madly in love in just one week, and sent for her to join him one week after arriving back in the United States. They were married Sept. 1, 1942, in Evanston, Wyo.
Ralph was stationed in several states during these years as a flying instructor. Later, Ralph went to England to become part of the 8th Air Force, 3rd Squadron, 467th Group as senior command pilot for B-24's on heavy bombardment missions. Both Ralph M. and his father, Ralph F., were one of the few father-son pilots on active flying status at the same time during World War II. In 1949, he was asked to become the Commander of the 179th Fighter Squadron, forerunner of the 148th Fighter Wing, at the Air National Guard Base in Duluth.
In 1958, Ralph was advanced to Commander of the 133rd Fighter Group and served in that capacity until 1960, when he was then appointed Minnesota's first National Guard Chief of Staff for Air. Ralph retired from serving his country in 1968.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Helen Caroline (Schweizer) Jerome and Ralph Frederick Jerome of Denver, Colo.; his sister, Beverly Jerome Lavach Waters, of Sun City, Ariz.; and son-in-law Billy Joe McCutcheon of Newnan, Ga.
Ralph leaves behind his wife of 69 years, Luceille Eleanor (McConnell) Jerome of Peachtree City; children Sandra Lee Jerome (Gary Ray) Atwood of Louisville, Ky., Helen Myrle Jerome (Billy Joe) McCutcheon of Newnan, and Ralph Frederick (Rose Ann Martinez) Jerome of Lewisville, Texas; grandchildren Stacy Kristine Atwood (Richard) Theobald, Brent Gary Atwood, Travis Jerome (Shannon) McCutcheon, Amanda Jo McCutcheon, Rendi McCutcheon (Bryan) Sellens, Jennifer Lynn Jerome (Charles) Isom, and Alexander Murray Jerome; great-grandchildren Brittney, Erik, Nickolas, Ashton, Arin, Regan, Brandon, Matthew, Nathaniel, Aislin, and Anden; his sister, Barbara Jerome Christofferson Hurd of Arkansas; brother Jerome Louis Jerome and sister-in-law Lorraine (Artz) Jerome of Arkansas; brother-in-law Jim Waters of Arizona; sister-in-law Georgia (McConnell) Kraeling of British Columbia, Canada; and numerous nieces and nephews all of whom were very special to him.
Ralph Jerome leaves behind a solid foundation that his family will follow; that of faith in ourselves, our country, and our Lord. Hope, love, kindness to the world, and most importantly the family legacy of love, respect, and caring for each other. He has passed all of these on to all the generations that have known him and the generations that will know him through memories.
A favorite saying of Ralph's is, "It's been a great ride, I sure did enjoy it all!"
CELEBRATION OF LIFE GATHERING: 3 p.m. Aug. 20 at the McCutcheon home, 216 Fieldstone Way, Newnan, GA 30265. Memorial contributions, instead of flowers, may be sent to Shriner's Children's Hospitals at shrinershospitalforchildren.org or Alzheimer's Association at alz.org/research.
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s.f. p.
Spokane, WA 08/14/2011 1:40 PM
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Johan P.
Honored to have served under his command in the 179 FIS for several years. More than a leader, he was also a mentor. Good memories of many flights together. God bless. Rest in peace General Jerome. Johan Pettersen Fallbrook, CaFallbrook, CA 08/15/2011 5:39 PM
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