click here to return to the Class of 1954 homepage
 

MA writing guidelines

self-written MA format

NOK approval form

funeral attendee form

A-1

B-1

C-1

D-1

E-1

F-1

G-1

H-1

I-1

K-1

L-1

M-1

A-2

B-2

C-2

D-2

E-2

F-2

G-2

H-2

I-2

K-2

L-2

M-2

 

Jerrold M. North   '54

No. 19826      • December 8, 1931 - August 27, 2006

Died in Harrisburg, PA

Interred in West Point Cemetery, West Point, NY

Jerrold Martin North was born Dec 8, 1931 in Chicago, IL, to Leonard and Esther North; grew up in the north side of the Windy City; and briefly attended the University of Illinois before entering West Point. He had few problems at the Academy, except for a brief scare with engineering drawing his plebe year, and progressively improved his academic standing until he attained the Dean's List his first class year. Although soccer was his major sport, he also played Army B squad football and threw the javelin for the track team. Jerry enjoyed the happy cadet days and ad­ventures he shared with his Company B-1 classmates, especially the relaxed camping weekends up in the mountains on the West Point reservation with the Fishing Club.

After graduation, Jerry joined the Field Artillery and, following jump school, spent two years with the 82nd Airborne Division. He then served nine months at Ft. Sill, at­tending the first surface-to-surface missile course. This was followed by assignments to the 3rd Infantry Division and the 10th Infantry Division as a battery executive officer. Following the launch of Sputnik, he was chosen to attend a two-year program at Redstone Arsenal and the University of Alabama to obtain a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. While at Redstone, Jerry met and married Gayle von Plonski, a student at Connecticut College for Women, originally from Washington, DC. Daughter Lore was born in Tuscaloosa, AL, while Jerry was getting his masters degree. Upon graduation, he was assigned as a future weapons officer at Redstone, where he helped organize the first anti-tank missile symposium. Lindy was born at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD, while Jerry was attending the Officer Advanced Course. This was followed by assignments as a special weapons officer in Korea and assistant project manager for combat vehicles in Detroit.

Jerry resigned from the Army in 1963 to enter the Foreign Service of the Department of State. His first assignment was to the Embassy in Kinshasa, Congo, as an administrative officer, aide to the Ambassador, and acting consul in Bukavu, eastern Congo. In this latter assignment, Jerry had the unique distinction of being appointed Honorary Consul of India by the Ambassador of India. In this honorary role, he was responsible for recording marriages, deaths and births and mediating disputes among the Indian clans living in the east­ern Congo. After Bukavu, he was sent to Belgium as second secretary, covering both foreign and Belgian university student activities whose unrest culminated in major anti-government demonstrations throughout most of Western Europe. Returning to Washington in 1968, Jerry served as an intelligence analyst for much of central Africa and then as country desk officer for Guinea, Togo, and Benin. In this latter assignment, he received the Department of State Meritorious Achievement Medal.

Washington was followed by assignments to Vietnam as province senior advisor; Malawi as first secretary consul; Sierra Leone as deputy chief of mission and consul; and Somalia as deputy chief of mission. In Malawi, circa 1974, Jerry and Gayle were welcomed at the Chileka Airport for embassy duty in the nearby city of Blantyre by Army LTC Robert Morris (C-2), a West Point classmate, and his wife Liz. Robert was serving as defense attaché, so the Morrises and Norths shared official duties and social occasions on the diplomatic circuit. Courtney was born in Blantyre. Jerry was very effective and popular among the diplomatic corps in Malawi. His later appointment as an ambassador reflected his skills as a career foreign service officer. In 1980, Jerry was named by President Jimmy Carter to be the first American Ambassador to the Republic of Djibouti, where he served until 1982.

Returning to the United States, he was posted to the Armed Forces Staff College in Norfolk, VA, as Foreign Affairs Advisor. His last assignments in the Department of State were as director of employee relations and then director of performance evaluation. Jerry retired in 1985 with more than 37 years of actual and accrued government service. That same year he joined the staff of International House, a housing and social organization for foreign graduate students, most attending Columbia University in New York. Jerry left International House in 1987 and retired to the family’s coun­try retreat at Lake Meade, PA. In time he was elected vice president of the Owner's Association and watched the community grow from just seven houses to over 1,000. He also became an avid gardener, serving as the Lake Meade Gardening Club president for many years. The Adams County Republican Party chose him to be a committeeman, a position he filled until he and Gayle moved to be closer to their daughters.

He and Gayle celebrated their 49th anniversary on Jun 6, 2006. He is survived by his wife Gayle; daughters Lore Yao, Linden North and Courtney North, (the latter two Doctors of Veterinary Medicine); and three grandchildren, David, Catherine and Christopher Yao.

                                        —Classmates, wife & self written

Originally published in TAPS, SUMMER 2012

class of 1954 home «    “grip hands” home «    eulogies «