Amherst Bulletin
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SOUTH HADLEY, MA - Jerold F. Mann, beloved and loving husband, father, grandfather, great- grandfather, and friend, died peacefully of natural causes April 27, 2020 in the Skilled Care Unit at Reeds Landing (Springfield, MA). He was 94 years old.
Born June 22, 1925 in Bayonne, NJ, to Anna (Edmonds) and John F. Mann, he was raised in Queens, NY, graduating from Andrew Jackson High School. He then began working at Pfizer Pharmaceutical before serving in the Army Air Corps during WWII as a navigator, achieving the rank of 2 nd Lieutenant. His lifetime love of singing in choral groups began at an early age, and fortuitously led to his meeting his lifelong sweetheart and future wife, Priscilla Smith, in 1942, at a rehearsal of the Queens College Community Chorus. Possessing a beautiful tenor voice, he also sang with the prestigious Collegiate Choral (founded by Robert Shaw).
After the war, he took advantage of the GI Bill to enroll in Western Maryland College (now McDaniel). He and Priscilla were married in Queens on August 24, 1947, prior to his graduating with a BS Summa cum Laude in 1948.
His working career at Sperry Gyroscope began as an engineer and culminated in his becoming a manager in Systems Management. Major projects included designing and implementing computer autopilot navigation systems for several entities, including the Spanish Navy; he also oversaw the design of SeAncor (Sperry Equipped Automatic Navigation Control for Off-Shore Requirements) for an international project based in Trieste, Italy. These last projects gave him and Priscilla the opportunity to travel in Europe, which they continued to do after he retired in 1987-including visiting the Mann family ancestral town of Colchester, England, as well as to Australia, New Zealand, and Iceland.
Jerold and Priscilla moved to Long Island to raise their family in the early 1950s, first to East Meadow and then to Port Washington, into a house he designed. They spent 50 happy years there.
Over the decades, Jerold continued to sing with Priscilla in a variety of fine community choruses on Long Island as well as in the Chancel Choir of the Congregational Church of Manhasset. Upon moving to Loomis Village in 2009, they joined the South Hadley Chorale and Loomis Village Chorus. His love of music encompassed classical to the Great American Songbook to Broadway, but perhaps the fondest spot in his heart was given to the operettas of Gilbert & Sullivan, to which he was first exposed while participating in high school productions. Although he suffered from Alzheimer's disease in recent years, he was still able to recall any G&S lyric when prompted by the music. As late as this past February, he stole the show at a Valley Light Opera singalong of The Pirates of Penzance!
After providing music lessons for his children (which had been unaffordable for him as a child of the Great Depression), in his 40s, Jerold took up the recorder, which he enjoyed playing with family and friends. (It is worth noting that all three of his children went into musical careers.) In addition, he was able to combine his musical and engineering talents to make a dulcimer and psaltery. He could seemingly repair or build anything, whistling or singing happily as he worked, and was glad to help anyone in need of some engineering expertise and handyman skills. He was also known as an avid punster and wit.
Jerold was pre-deceased by his older siblings John F. Mann, Jr., and Janet McCormick. His wife of 72 years, Priscilla, survived him by 13 days. He is survived by children Diana Peelle (Paul) of Amherst, MA, Melissa Holland of Beacon, NY, and Jeremy Mann (Tim Casto) of Los Angeles, CA; grandchildren Tyson Peelle, Davin Peelle (Jennifer), and Emily Holland; great-granddaughters Esm? and Iris Peelle; and one niece and three nephews.
We would like to thank his caregivers from O'Connell Care at Home over the past several years, especially Lisa Dashnaw, Brenda Bussiere Morris, and Michele Moore.
Jerold will be remembered as sweet, gentle, and always smiling, with deep blue eyes that never faded. Everyone loved him, and said so!
Contributions may be made in Jerold's memory to the Alzheimer's Foundation (alzfdn.org) or any music organization, such as the Congregational Church of Manhasset Choir (uccmanhasset.org), Valley Light Opera (vlo.org), Pioneer Valley Symphony (pvsoc.org), or the Gwen and Ray Bolger Fund at the UCLA Foundation (310-206-5999).
Due to physical distancing restrictions, a joint memorial with Priscilla will be held at a later date.
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