Jack R. Wehrly died peacefully in his sleep in Farmington, CT. on August 27, 2023. He was one day shy of his 95th birthday.
Jack was born August 28, 1928 to Lillian (nee Smith) and Wilfred (Bud) Wehrly. Jack and his older brother Ralph shared a happy childhood in Ft. Wayne, Indiana where Jack was an avid Boy Scout and later worked in the local malt shop. Following high school, Jack lied about his age to join the army during World War II. After completing his basic training in New Jersey, he was assigned to an island in Boston Harbor as a member of the Shore Battery. There he managed the telephone switchboard for the island. Whenever Jack needed an outside line, he wound up talking to a Mainland operator with a beautiful voice. Eventually, Jack asked her out to dinner and a movie and she said yes. Turns out, it wasn’t just her voice that was beautiful. Jack and Geraldine (Gerry) Fitzgerald married and had their first child, Donna, soon after Jack left the army.
Jack went to Purdue University on the GI Bill, majoring in Chemical Engineering. After finishing his classes each day, he worked an 8-hour shift at the GM Plant in order to support his young family. With his degree in engineering, he took a job with Dow Corning as a research engineer in Midland, Michigan. This was the beginning of a long and accomplished career with Dow Corning. As a research engineer, he was awarded several patents for his work. Shortly after, he was moved to Dow’s New York City office, located in Rockefeller Center, in industrial sales. Their family expanded, with Diana and Dennis added. In 1961, another promotion took Jack and his family back to Midland. With Gerry handling the home front, Jack became marketing manager for Fabricating Materials in 1962, then manager of Corporate Planning activities four years later. To further his career, Jack completed the Harvard Advanced Management Program in Boston in 1967, after which he assumed the position of E&S Business Manager. In 1972, he was named director of Corporate Technical Service and Development, then became New Ventures Business Manager in 1977. He assumed the position of US Area Vice President for Government Relations in 1979, which necessitated another move to Washington, DC.
Four years later, they moved again – this time to Tokyo, Japan when Jack was named President of Dow Corning Japan. In this position, Jack was tasked with continuing the company’s profitable growth throughout the Pacific Basin region and increasing their participation in emerging technologies and applications. He took great pride in mentoring new team members, but was, perhaps, most proud of the fact that he hired Dow Corning’s first female Japanese chemist.
It was while based in Japan that Jack and Gerry’s love of travel really took flight. They traveled extensively throughout Asia, Europe and Australia. The children, now grown, rendezvoused with their parents for holidays in Bali, Hong Kong, and Portugal, to name a few locations. Jack may have begun from humble beginnings, but he had become a real world traveler.
Following a 45 year career, Jack retired from Dow Corning in 1993. Jack and Gerry first moved back to Washington, DC for a few years before deciding to settle in Williamsburg, VA, where they built a grand home. He doted on his grandchildren and loved to entertain. Parties included card games and a full bar. He golfed and played billiards. He rekindled his love of sailing. In their later years, Jack and Gerry moved to Connecticut to be closer to family. When Gerry died in 2017, their marriage had spanned almost seven decades.
Jack will be remembered for his larger-than-life presence and his ability to tell a great story, especially after a couple of strong vodka martinis (with three olives, please). He never left a restaurant before it closed. And, he never let anyone else pick up the check.
Jack is survived by his daughter Diana (Wehrly) Nicholson of Park City, Utah and his son Dennis Wehrly of Simsbury, CT as well as his grandchildren Ian Wehrly, Dylan Wehrly, and Emily Nicholson. He was predeceased by his parents, his brother Ralph, his wife Gerry, and his daughter Donna.
Jack's funeral will be from the Maurice W. Kirby Funeral Home 210 Winthrop St. Winthrop on Wednesday, September 6, at 9AM, followed by a funeral Mass in St. John the Evangelist Church (St. Michael's Parish)-Winthrop at 10AM. Relatives and friends are invited. Cremation will follow after the Mass. Visiting hours will be held in the funeral home on Tuesday, September 5 from 4-8PM. In lieu of flowers, donations can be sent to: Cure Alzheimer’s Fund 34 Washington St., Suite 310
Wellesley Hills, MA. 02481.