From Carol Benham

Jerry was my friend, colleague and classmate.

As Deputy Press Secretary to Assembly Speaker Leo McCarthy, I came to appreciate Jerry's lack of interest in endless political insider musings and his insistence on getting to the facts and getting them straight. He would often charge into the press office like a mad bull and bark questions with a bit of bluster. By the time he left, both of us would usually be laughing.

When we instituted weekly press "availabilities" with McCarthy, it was Jerry's voice that would end the session with "Thank you, Mr. Speaker" with near perfect timing.

In the late '70s, Jerry and I took some courses together at CSU, Sacramento in the evenings. Jerry's personal life was in upheaval at that time and sometimes we'd go for a libation after class. Jerry's was always a J&B neat with a water back.

Our professor in a communications studies course sometimes pitted Jerry and I against each other in class, knowing we both worked in the Capitol. Once Jerry and I were selected to compete against each other to persuade a group of fellow students of the merits of our proposal. I remember wanting to win but feeling that I shouldn't prevail over the Dean of the Capitol Press Corps. We both got an A.

Jerry, it was an honor and a pleasure — A+

-- Carol Benham