Joseph Gerard Almiry “Jerry” D’Auteuil

August 9, 1940 – July 14, 2022

Jerry grew up in Lawrence, MA, born to Joseph D’Auteuil and Blanche (Levesque) D’Auteuil. He was a graduate of Central Catholic High School in Lawrence. He attended Northeastern University on scholarship and completed Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, and subsequently Masters in the same at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.  He was also a pilot, and passionate about flying.  Jerry was a loving son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, and friend.  He was a wonderful listener who always made others feel important.  He was kind, and good, and loved to laugh.  He is also no longer in pain.  He is at peace, in a much better place, where disease can’t hurt him anymore. One of his many meaningful mottos was, “don’t sweat the small stuff,” which he lived out beautifully, which was a true marvel considering all his life’s challenges. He also loved to read and to write, and while never achieving the status of one of his literary heroes, Ernest Hemingway, all were spellbound when reading his prose with exquisite perfection using the English language…his second language, after French. He was a math wizard and when in elementary school, before mastering the English language, was brought in front of the 8^th grade students to demonstrate how to solve complicated algebra equations.

He was pre-deceased by his parents, sisters Cecile McKinney and Annette Berry, his first wife, Carol (Ouelette) D’Auteuil, and his son, Keith Gerard D’Auteuil.

He is survived by his wife Geraldine (Gagnier) D’Auteuil, sons Marc and wife Candice, Darren and wife Shayna, daughter Doreen, and his brother, Arthur Camil D’Auteuil and wife Carline.  Jerry has six grandchildren (Autumn, Joseph, Savannah, Nathan, Amelia, and Kimberly).  Affectionately referred to as “Pops” or “Papa” or “Pépé,” he was first to play on the floor with the kids and grandkids and took every opportunity to read them books about whatever they were interested in, The Titanic, Blues Clues, Barbie, Battleships, History, or fiction.

Jerry loved the outdoors, fishing, and hunting with his family.  Truly, if there is a purgatory, his was probably paid in full by all the tangled fishing lines and stuck hooks from which he saved his children.  He went along with his kids’ nonsense (“Dad, should I drive through this pond with my new 4×4?”) and shenanigans (“Dad, I was out in the woods with my BB gun and found this unconscious bird with a suspicious injury to his head.”  Weird, right?)  Oh, and our tomfoolery (“Dad, we were making breakfast and we set the kitchen hood on fire…not to be mistaken with the time we set the porch on fire”).

Family and friends are cordially invited to attend a celebration of life at Bucktrout Funeral Home, 4124 Ironbound Rd, Williamsburg, VA 23188, on Saturday, July 23, 2022, at 11 AM ET. While we initially planned on going to the inurnment immediately following the ceremony, we have decided to delay until a later date when the Niche has been engraved and it is not 100 degrees outside! We have also changed our plans for the reception and will have it immediately following the ceremony and at the same facility (Bucktrout Funeral Home) within their reception area with lunch and refreshments provided by our family. We have reserved the facility until 1:30 PM, possibly later, to enable time to talk, share, grieve, celebrate Dad’s life, and love on one another. We will also be providing a link for those that cannot attend to stream the ceremony live on your device or watch a recording afterwards.

In lieu of flowers or other gifts, we are asking that loved ones who wish to do something in Jerry’s memory send a donation to the Alzheimer’s Association. Jerry fought this awful disease for years, as have many others, with no current cure. You can donate in memory of Dad via the following link: https://www.alz.org/?form=alz_donate. You may alternatively mail in a donation to 6350 Center Drive Suite 102, Norfolk, VA 23502 with a note indicating who it is in memory of and if they would like to indicate who to notify. For information, directions and to leave an online condolence please visit www.vacremationsociety.com.