Gerald (Jerry) Lee Sparling passed away peacefully on Friday, June 15, 2018 with family and loved ones at his bedside. Jerry was born in Winfield, Kansas on August 31, 1929. As a youngster growing up in the Great Depression, his family relocated to Texas for a short time, and then ultimately to California–first to San Dimas, and then to Ceres where they operated a large dairy.
Jerry was an exceptional athlete, and his athletic experiences were instrumental in his development as a young… Read More » man. Although his family moved back to Southern California when Jerry started high school, he was asked by his football coach to stay and live with his coach for the remainder of his high school years. Upon graduation, he then went on to Modesto Junior College, where he was a star athlete in baseball, basketball and especially football.
In 1949 Jerry moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he was employed by Sparling-Davis Construction. After serving honorably in the US Army during the Korean conflict, he returned to Edmonton and married Anne Onyschuk on July 6, 1953. While continuing to work for Sparling-Davis, he and Anne lived in Toronto, Ontario; Montreal, Quebec; Valdez, Alaska; and Fairbanks, Alaska.
The couple, along with their two young children, returned to California in 1960. Jerry enlisted in the California Highway Patrol, and he shortly became a sergeant in the Monterey County area. In 1988, he was named “Peace Officer of the Year” in Monterey County by the Veterans 40, and in 1989 he was named “California Peace Officer of the Year”.
Jerry retired from the CHP in 1989. In 1996 he and Anne moved to Vancouver, Washington where they lived happily near their daughter and son and their respective families until 2015. At that time, they moved to Santa Maria, California to be closer to their second daughter and her family.
Jerry was a devoted family man and a great friend. He enjoyed nothing more than time spent with family and friends, and consistently placed their needs and wishes ahead of his own. He also enjoyed farm life, and although he and his brothers all decided against carrying on their family dairy, he did enjoy having Quarter Horses, good dogs, sheep and even lamas for many years.
He was a State Director of the California High School Rodeo Association for several years and got tremendous pleasure out of those times. He is survived by his wife, Anne, his three children, Marcia Sparling (Michael Coppock), Ed Sparling (Barbara), and Alexandra “Chrissy” Allen (Paul), his four grandchildren, Cameron and Christopher Coppock and Brooks and Tyler Sparling, as well as his older brother Jodean Sparling (Saundy), younger sister Janice Jackson (Don), and sister-in-law Linda Sparling, as well as numerous nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his father, Wendell Arthur Sparling, his mother, Erma Clarice (Keaton) Sparling, and his brother, Johnny Sparling.
There will be a memorial service at Dudley Hoffman Mortuary at 1003 East Stowell Road, Santa Maria, California, on Friday, June 22, 2018 at 1:00 pm.
If you found any mistakes, or you would like to add/remove to this obituary, please contact us by email: info@obituary.memorial. We never ask money for this.
