Gerald Wilson Vaught

Gerald Wilson Vaught

August 14, 1940 - July 28, 2022

Gerald Wilson Vaught (Jerry) bragged about being married to Cheryl Vaught for 55 years.  They parented Kevin and Katherine.

Jerry was proud of achieving high academic excellence having a BA at Arizona State University and a master’s from UC Berkeley. This was in spite his mother who forbade education beyond high school. She forced him to attend a non-academic high school course in carpentry. This limited the classes he could study in English or other languages.

The carpentry worked well for Jerry because it allowed him to qualify for high paying union jobs and save money for college. As a carpenter intern he won a contest for building a better little house than the other state-wide entrants. For the rest of his life he loved working with wood.

After earning his BA, he married and moved to Lafayette, California where he worked for a Big Eight accounting firm and earned his CPA certificate before embarking on a master’s degree.

He was renowned as CFO at St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco for 16 years. He then continued his career at the Port of Oakland.

Retirement was a relief after so many years of near sleeplessness and toil.

He adored wine, tacos, gags as well as both funny and lame jokes. Also, he loved reading, travel, learning languages, and exploring other cultures. In retirement he took writing classes and wrote a novel based on his life.

Jerry was beloved as an honest, kind and outstanding husband, father and citizen. He will be missed.