Gerald Walter Flynn III, 69, passed away on Thursday, March 7, 2019 at his forever home in Marietta, GA. He had celebrated his bride's birthday with a lunch date the day before and had played a good game of golf that day. He was a true gentleman, a classic family man, a man of honor, dignity, and respect. Jerry's father was an officer in the marines and earned a purple heart for his courage and bravery in the Battle of Guam, and was also a sales manager at Dunning Lumber Company. His parents, Gerald Walter Flynn Jr. and Helen Louise McManus, were married in 1943. Jerry was born on May 8, 1949 in Providence, RI. In 1953, his family moved to Poughkeepsie, NY and lived out their childhood in that community. He was the prince of the family with four sisters, and was likely both a blessing and a pain to have as a brother growing up. Devout Catholics, Jerry attended Holy Trinity and Our Lady of Lourdes High School. He was active in little league baseball and played JV basketball in 1964. He was an altar boy for St. Martin de Porres Parish, and the first mass that he served at was also the first Christmas Eve mass in the new church.

Jerry attended Villanova University and graduated in 1971, earning a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. He bartended for a year afterwards back home in Poughkeepsie, NY, and later in life joked about how it was probably the best job that he ever had. He spent forty one hard-working years in the building materials business, following in his Grandfather and Father's footsteps in the lumber industry. Jerry was a lumber sales manager for BlueLinx Corporation in Atlanta, GA when he retired in 2014, but where and how his love story started is beyond just this company. Jerry moved to Philadelphia, PA in 1972 to work for MacMillan Bloedel, a Canadian forestry company. He transferred with them to Vancouver, B.C., Canada. When he arrived on the twenty-first floor of the building, he was greeted by the woman who would love him for the duration of his life. Jerry was a tall man, with beautiful blue eyes, dark brown hair, and a perfect smile.

On March 14, 1975, he married Dhorea Randle in Houston, TX, where they eloped with no one else present but a best man. Beforehand when he met Dhorea's family, a city boy courting a country girl, her mother sent him to the barn to gather eggs. When Jerry came back with only a couple of eggs in the basket, he said that those hens wanted the eggs a lot more than he did. They all loved Jerry and accepted him into Dhorea's big family from that day on. Her family had a Saw Mill lumber company in Alberta, Canada. It was said that Jerry and Dhorea both had sawdust in their blood. Mother Nature and the trees are what brought them together. Jerry was a tall tree to his wife and family, and his branches always swayed in the wind and over them for protection.

Jerry and his bride relocated for the last time, but this time to the South. They lived in an apartment on Windy Hill Road and moved in 1977 to their home in Marietta, GA. There they started their family and never left. They renewed their wedding vows at St. Joseph's Catholic Church on March 14, 1985, which really made his mother happy. His mother-in-law loved him so much and always said that he was a good man, husband and father, because he brought home milk, eggs, and bread after a long day at work, and because he never went to the bar.

Jerry was such a proud son to take his family of six to Poughkeepsie, NY, when it was time to celebrate his parent's fiftieth wedding anniversary. Basketball games at the sisters houses consisted of North versus South. Jerry lived in another state but always picked right back up where he left off when it came to his New York gang. He was able to spend time in Florida at his parents and with his sisters there too, laughing together and having a Bloody Mary on the beach.

Jerry worked for Seaboard and Georgia Pacific, which eventually became BlueLinx. He enjoyed the challenge of sales and although he used to call himself the old guy at the meetings who spoke his mind, he was definitely appreciated, respected and loved by the many coworkers that had the privilege to work with such a great man. He was happy that he had managed to have four kids without southern accents and enjoyed the time with his four loving grandsons. Their goal is to be as tall as Grandpa one day. Jerry made sure to take his family to the beach every year for vacations, often times including the kids' friends. His house was always open, and many of these same kids moved in for extended periods of time and always felt at home.

Jerry fell in love with the beach at an early age, spending family vacations in the summers at Bonnet Shores, RI. He and his Dad took a memorable train ride across the West Coast around 1960. He adored his mother. Jerry enjoyed swinging his golf club because his parents both played well. He liked to watch the horse races, specifically at the Saratoga Race Track in Upstate New York. A friend once told him that he wasn't great at betting on the winning horses, but that he had sure done a fine job at choosing a wife. Jerry raised his kids to appreciate old school, classic rock and roll. He liked to win at a good game of cards. There are no friends in cards. Jerry liked all Atlanta sports teams and Alabama Crimson Tide football. Longtime friends in Birmingham, AL got him rooting on this team in 1975. It was a good day when his teams won. Jerry was an amazing cook, and liked banging around pots and pans in the kitchen with his wife. Her chocolate chip cookies were his all-time favorite though. He was an avid reader. Jerry would be proud that his story is printed in the Sunday newspapers, both the Atlanta Journal Constitution and the Marietta Daily Journal. He always said the best newspapers printed were on Sundays, and that they kept jacking up the prices so he would probably cancel it soon anyway. Jerry would read something every day. His knowledge about history, politics, good judgment and loyalty is not something that is common anymore. He lived in a time when there was no internet.

Jerry was a rock and is a hero. He did whatever it took for his family and his goal in life was to always be there for them no matter the circumstances. The remaining four of his immediate family got to see him one last time, the very day he took his last breath here on Earth. Jerry made it home. He coached his sons at Shaw Park little league baseball in Marietta, GA, and he was his daughter's biggest fan. He was proud of his family and all that he could provide for them. Jerry told people that he was really glad that he had a daughter, but that he was glad that he only had one. He used to tell his children to go into the room, observe the situation, and recognize when to speak and when to listen, smile, and try to be a quiet presence when necessary. He would also remind his wife that a sale was not a sale if you didn't have the money. She just wants her husband back, her best friend. She cherishes the many moons that they had together and knows that one day she will be in his arms again. The long walks on the beach, hand in hand and watching their kids play, are some of the best memories that must be remembered. If you haven't been to Pensacola Beach, FL, then you haven't seen a little slice of Heaven for the Flynn's.

He is survived by his wife, Dhorea Randle Flynn; his sons Regan Daniel Flynn and Brenndan Randle Flynn; his daughter Halley Mellissa Flynn; his grandsons Gerald Walker Flynn, Max Enriquez, Leo Flynn Monte, and Aidan Tylor Flynn; his sisters Helen Christie, Barbara and husband Al Bosco, and Mary Beth Flynn; his nephews David Laffin, Brian and wife Kim Laffin, Brett Laffin, and Kevin and wife Sharon Bosco; his nieces Heidi and husband Bryan Murphy, Kathleen Christie, Karen and husband Artie Gould, and Colleen and husband Bruce Osterman; his great-nephews Patrick Laffin, Griffin Murphy and Dean Bosco; his great-nieces Lyla Laffin, Samantha Laffin, Annabelle and Quinn Osterman, and Aubrey Gould. He was predeceased by his mother Helen Louise Flynn; his father Gerald Walter Flynn Jr.; his son Tylor Matthew Flynn; his sister Patricia and husband Mort Laffin; his brother-in-law Bob Christie, and his nephew Darren Laffin.

Please join us for his service at 4:00 in the chapel Wednesday, March 20, 2019 at Marietta Funeral Home 915 Piedmont Rd. Marietta, GA  30066. Visitation with the family will be from 5:00 - 8:00. Jerry has gained his wings and is now in Heaven sending love to us all. He is probably playing a game of golf with Tylor on the most beautiful course imaginable, watching the sun set over the horizon and thinking about the first and last kiss he gave to his love. One day we will hear him whistle again. "To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, until death do us part." He is loved by many and cherished by all.   Online condolences may be expressed at www.mariettafuneralhome.org.