Gerald Leon Inman, 83, devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, departed this life and into the loving arms of his Heavenly Father on April 17, 2013, in Bend, Oregon.
Gerry was born Feb. 15, 1930, in Grinnell, Iowa, to Myrle (Buck) Inman and Grace Jones Inman. Gerry met his bride, Bettina, in 1951 and they celebrated 61 years of marriage this past summer. Prior to that, Gerry attended school in North Platte, graduating in 1949 and joined the Navy right out of high school, where he served as an electrician for four years. Gerry and Bettina made their first home in Mountain View, Calif., where they raised their three children. Gerry worked for Hewlett Packard and retired after 30 years with HP. Upon retiring, he took a sabbatical so that he and Bettina could sail the Pacific Ocean for five years. In 1989, they made their home in Sunriver, Oregon, where Gerry dabbled in real estate and pursued his passion for fly fishing, wind surfing and racquetball. For many years, Gerry and Bettina would escape the cold winters by driving their RV to San Carlos, Mexico, where he took on the challenge of kite boarding.
An avid sailor, Gerry sailed and raced several classes of sailboats. He qualified for the Olympic trials sailing team in the finn class, prior to the 1972 summer games in Munich, Germany.
Over the years, Gerry was very involved with the Shepherd’s House, a shelter for homeless men. He was also a member of Christian Life Center.
While Gerry had many interests and passions, his greatest love was his wife, Bettina. He was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and brother.
Gerry is survived by his wife, Bettina; daughters, Terri and Kimber; his son, Jeff; grandchildren; great-grandchildren; brother, Mick (Karen) Inman, of Hershey; plus numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Shepherd’s House, 1854 NE Division Street, Bend, OR 97701.
A celebration of life was held at the Christian Life Center of Bend on April 22.