After spending time in New York as a writer and riding a freighter in Europe after high school, Jerry graduated from Washington University with a double bachelor's degree in French and English. Subsequently he received a master's degree in social work from the University of Missouri and a doctorate in educational administration from Northwestern University.

When Jerry was 11, his 17 year old brother died when a gun he was cleaning accidently discharged. According to his wife, quoted in an obituary which appeared in the Chicago Tribute, this loss led him to a career dealing with family trauma and being involved in helping others. Jerry spent many years as an administrator of treatment facilities and agencies devoted to the education and counseling of emotionally disturbed children in St. Louis, Kansas City and Chicago. The last decade of his life he became an avid

practitioner of Zen and alkido. He was survived by his wife, Chris, and a sister, Judy Bear. He died of a heart attack in March, 2002, while attending a Buddist retreat in New York. The City Council of the City of Chicago adopted a resolution to commemorate his life in May, 2002. (submitted from obituaries provided by his wife, Chris, to Buddy Cooper and Barbara Klearman Bisno).

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