Jerry Dean Booze

12/31/1946 – 10/2/2026

It is with great sadness that I share that my dad, Jerry, passed away at the age of 79. Jerry was born December 31, 1946, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, the son of Mike Ferguson Booze and Mary Elizabeth Dudley. Jerry was a decorated Vietnam veteran who served his country and received several military medals, bronze stars and a Purple Heart. Accordingly, he will be laid to rest at the DFW Veterans National Cemetery with full honors.

After Vietnam he built a life in Wichita, KS and raised two daughters. Jerry retired from Boeing and lived in the Philippines for 8 years with his wife before spending the remainder of his retirement with family in Wichita.

For the past three years, caring for my dad with the support of his sister Cheryl became an important part of our lives as he suffered from PTSD, COPD, Parkinson’s, and dementia. The lasting physical and emotional effects of his service in Vietnam contributed to the health struggles he faced throughout his later years. We moved him to the VA home in Fort Worth and over the past several months, his decline became especially difficult. The dementia eventually affected his ability to swallow and watching him lose weight and become weaker despite everything we tried was heartbreaking. Ultimately, we had to make the very difficult decision to place him in hospice. We believed we would still have a few months with him. Instead, we were given less than a week.

The day before he passed, his granddaughter Arienne and I sat with him listening to Buddy Holly and playing blackjack. Even with everything his body was going through, my dad was still mentally alert and understood exactly how to play. On one hand, he asked for just one additional card and then chose to hold. When his cards were revealed, all three were 3s — 3-3-3. For those who may not know, 333 has been a symbolic number connected to his grandson Zachary who passed away at seven years old. Seeing those three 3s in my dad’s hand the day before he passed felt like a sign that Zachary was near and that God was calling him home.

We are grateful to spend so much of that final week with him and find comfort knowing he is now free from pain, confusion, and suffering and is now resting eternally with our Lord Jesus Christ, Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, Mike and Mary Booze; his wife, Emily Booze; brothers, Paul Dudley, Junior Booze, Charles Booze, Gary Booze; sisters, Judy Siller, and Sharon Booze; and his grandson, Zachary Deverger.

He is survived by his daughters, Kristina Booze; Jennifer Martinine and son-in-law, Arden Martinine; his sister, Cheryl Utley; grandchildren, Gabrielle Giroux, Taylor Giroux, Arienne Leiker, Noah Leiker, Kory Booze, Kayla Mason, Breezy Booze, Izabella Wahl, and Kobie Wahl; and by his great-grandchildren, Kail Booze, Kamden Booze, Hailey Frakes, Adalynn Mason and Liam Moore.