Geraldine M. "Jerrie" Gilson

December 14, 1940 – March 18, 2020

On Wednesday, March 18, 2020, Geraldine "Jerrie" Gilson passed away from a brief illness.  She and her husband Phil Gilson purchased a summer home in Rockaway Point in 1969.  Jerrie and Phil quickly became involved in the community, spending every summer at their bungalow until it was destroyed in Superstorm Sandy.  Jerrie served for 26 years as a Vice President in the Rockaway Point Association, managing the block captains and running the RPA Children's Halloween Party.  She also served on other committees for the Breezy Point Co-Operative.

Jerrie was born and raised in Brooklyn, attending Our Lady of Angels and St. Brendan's schools, and playing in as many basketball games as she could.  On hot summer days, friends in Rockaway Point invited her down for relaxing days at the beach.  While studying at St. Vincent's Hospital School of Nursing, she met Phil, a dashing and handsome young orderly who was working at the hospital.  The beautiful couple married in 1963 and embarked on many adventures together, including raising their only daughter Valerie.  After graduating from St. Vincent's in 1961, Jerrie embarked upon a career as a pediatric nurse, starting at St. Vincent's Hospital, continuing at NYU, and then moving into private practice.  She finished her career working for Dr. David Fernandes, a pediatrician practicing in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.

Jerrie treasured her Irish heritage, placing special emphasis on maintaining connections to her family back in Ireland.  She and Phil hosted many Irish relatives during their vacations in America.  Jerrie finally realized her lifelong dream of visiting Ireland in 2011 to attend a relative's wedding celebration. Together with Phil, Jerrie visited many of the places her relatives described on their visits and met the newest generation of the Irish side of the family.

Phil and Valerie were at Jerrie's bedside when she passed away.

Service Information

Wake: Friday (5/13) 4 PM - 8 PM
Funeral Mass: Saturday (5/14) 9:30 AM @ Saint Thomas More R.C. Church
Cemetery: Holy Cross Cemetery (Brooklyn, NY)

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