Gerald Bleyer Gauthier

Gerald Bleyer Gauthier (Jerry) passed away at the age of 76 in Fort Mill, South Carolina from pancreatic cancer, with his family by his side.  He was a beloved husband and a caring, involved, loving father of four. Despite a tough year of battling cancer he enjoyed many visits with his children throughout the year, and was even able to do a bit of travel here and there as his health permitted.

Jerry was born in Lowell, Massachusetts to Florand Gauthier and Elsie Bleyer.  He grew up in Lowell and attended Assumption Prep School, Lowell Technological Institute (now UMass Lowell) and Boston University.

Jerry lived for many years on Cape Cod before retiring to South Carolina – he had had more than enough of raking leaves and shoveling snow and did not miss either!  He used to chuckle upon hearing that another ‘noreaster was headed to the Cape.  Jerry enjoyed a rewarding career as a software engineer, working for many years for what was then known as Software 2000 on Cape Cod where he also met his wife Vicki.

Jerry was an avid fan of Boston sports – he followed them all – Red Sox, Patriots, Bruins and Celtics.  He celebrated the many Patriots Super Bowl wins, as well as the Bruins and Celtics trophies – but none would surpass the 2004 Red Sox World Series win after years of disappointment!  His other favorite sports team was Notre Dame football – he was finally able to see them play in person when they visited Wake Forest while he was living in South Carolina.

Jerry loved attending his children’s many sporting events – including football, baseball, soccer, basketball, ice hockey, equestrian, softball, field hockey and lacrosse.  He rarely missed a game!

Jerry enjoyed many family vacations ranging from a baseball park trip to a dude ranch in the Rockies, with Hawaii becoming a favorite and one of their few repeat destinations.  He continued to travel with Vicki after retirement, and particularly enjoyed taking Viking Cruises of the Rhine and Danube rivers.  A trip to the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France along with a visit to London and Paris last year was another favorite.

In retirement Jerry found more time to devote to a couple of his hobbies, one of which was doing family history research.  He was 50% French Canadian and 50% German, and enjoyed tracking down as many ancestors on each side of his family as possible.  Another retirement hobby was volunteering with the Society for American Baseball Research.  Possibly his favorite hobby was playing pickleball – a new love but one which he wholeheartedly participated in.  As with all games, Jerry never “let” anyone win – even his children – so if you played with him you had to know that going in.

Jerry is survived by his loving wife of 32 years, Vicki, and his four children – Stacey Tavares of Westport, MA; Scott (Erika) Gauthier of Hyannis, MA; Lucy (Tommy) Ratchford of Atlanta, GA; and Claire Gauthier of San Francisco, CA.  He is also survived by grandchildren Hunter Gauthier and Thomas Ratchford as well as his sister Jackie (Dennis) Mills of Lowell, MA.

Jerry did not wish for a funeral or service but requested that anyone wanting to honor his memory make a contribution to the charity of their choice.