I just wanted to explain to everyone what happened yesterday as it must be confusing to many how it could have gone so badly so quickly.
Early Friday afternoon, very soon after Sarah’s post, Jerry suffered heart failure. His heart had become enlarged (who would have thought Jerry’s heart could get any larger!) as it was straining against the embolism to get blood to his organs. Though Jerry survived the heart failure, we were told early in the evening that there was nothing more, medically, that could be done for him. A few peaceful hours later, he was gone.
But not forgotten. The doctors have all said that he was a ‘remarkable’ patient – we all know he was a remarkable man. Now is the time to focus on the years that we had with Jerry. His smile, his music, his kindness. We each have stories – fond memories of his life and I invite you to share them here* so that we can all smile together at the memory of Jerry Gonnelly.
~Colin
* if you are reading this on the main blog page, simply click the title of the post to reply directly to this post. You can also email your memories of Jerry to us at jerrysrecovery@gmail.com.
Linda, family and friends, my condolences; Jerry filled the world with music..we played many “gigs” together and it was always interesting both from a musical standpoint and as an interaction between 2 quite disparate individuals who somehow managed to communicate nevertheless, which I suspect was one of Jerry’s strong points…definitely American but also a citizen of the world. As a subway busker I have great appreciation for his fervour and faith [and skill] in bringing live music with his mandolin to thousands of people who otherwise might not have experienced it in this digital age….Although I saw Jerry very little in the last couple of years, I’m going to miss him, and the thought that he’s “still out there” plugging away, regardless of fame, fortune, etc. like many of us.I guarantee you the next time I go busking at Pape, Woodbine or Greenwood [stations Jerry used to favour], I’ll be thinking of him and the music he used to bounce off those walls.Jerry enriched my world…once again , my condolences to those closest to him….
Dear Linda,
My heart aches for you. Jerry was truly a good man who loved you deeply. The day will eventually come where your despair over his loss will be tempered with fond memories of his many gifts and the good times you spent together. For now, please remember that many friends are thinking of you, and Tom and Martin, and are sharing your grief at your loss.
Karen Golets Pancer
Linda, Family, and Friends,
Tonight I share your grief for the loss of Gerry who played a role in all our lives. My prayers are with you all, Mark Stairs
Linda and everyone,
We are so very, very, sorry. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, and we will keep you and Jerry in our hearts. Jack & Lori
Dear Linda and family:
I am so, so, sorry for your loss.
Gerry’s enormous heart, which was full of love for all of you, and his kindness, his selflessness, smiling face and joy in making music will always be remembered.
Linda, please know that your friends are here for you in the difficult days ahead. Don’t hesitate to lean on us in your sorrow at anytime.
Love,
Rose
Dear Linda, family, and friends:
My heartfelt condolences on your loss. Jerry was a wonderful, loving man and a good friend. He was the first musician I met when I moved to Toronto, and he was one of the most important and dearest musical partners I ever had. I will be forever grateful for having known and shared music and friendship with him. My oldest daughter, Emma, still goes to bed every night with the teddy bear Jerry gave her when she was born. I hope you are able in this hard time to take comfort in the many fond memories he has given us. He was a special soul who will be missed by so many.
Love,
Mike
Dearest Linda and Families
Thank goodness for mementoes, particularly photos, which comfort us when we are so very sad. I looked at one such photo today.Jerry, who often came to Rose Cottage to help me out with little maintainance problems, came to help me restore my garden. A new sewer system had decimated my lovely garden, but with the help of many friends I reconstructed it. Jerry was one of those friends. Linda also played her part by visiting us as beer-fairy. Armed with good ale she livened up our work and helped us quench our thirst on a hot day. I took a photo of Jerry, all smiles, pushing Linda, all smiles, in the wheelbarrow. It’s a lovely photo that speaks of both their kindness to their friends and each other. I’m here for you Linda in the time ahead of you. I always have been.
Much Love
Margaret
Dear Linda
I did not know Jerry. I did meet him twice, once in your company. It was clear then that he made you very happy, so I know he was a good man. I know you will bless the time you had with him and cherish the memories.
I know that we see each other rarely and you are surrounded by good friends, but please know that if there is anything at all that Kathy and I can do to help you through the days ahead, do not hesitate to contact us.
Love
Geoff
Linda, Sarah, Colin, Mindy, Hannah, Tom, Martin, and the family of friends and musicians whose lives Jerry touched:
We are so deeply saddened by the loss of Jerry. He was a crazy-talented musician who inspired so many performers in so many ways. Jerry was a man of strong opinions and fierce loyalty, and when he believed in a project, as he did in Two Roads Home and so many other musical endeavours, his energy never faltered. I learned so much from him as a musician, sometimes the hard way, but always with the end result of becoming a progressively stronger player, performer and songwriter. Jerry also brought a wicked sense of humour to life. He could be witty and acerbic, as when we would rant about the state of the English language, or mischievously sarcastic, as when our friend Peter asked him what that instrument was that he played (the mandolin, of course) and Jerry replied dryly, “a French horn.” Some of you may have had the privilege of hearing about “the brown note” from this esteemed musicologist; if you haven’t, it’s probably better left unexplained. But what I remember the most about Jerry G is his generosity and thoughtfulness: birthdays, illnesses, my father’s battle with cancer, Jerry was always checking in and sending cards and being there for me and Chris, and that is what the finest friends do. He and Chris helped one another with the renovations on their respective homes, and Jerry always gave everything he had. Jerry, your music is in the walls of our little home, and we ache to have you here in the world with us still. We wish all of you healing and memories of Jerry that are worthy of his spririt – brilliant, funny, relentlessly generous and musical ’til the end.
Abby Zotz and Chris Marcucci
Dear Linda and Family,
Though they say that the loss of a Loved One is an opportunity to celibrate their Life, the loss of Jerry is indeed sorrowful.
I wish you strength and faith in the days ahead.
Michele and I think of you often and share your loss!
(Blues Harp)Bob
Dear Linda and Families,
We are both so very saddened for your loss. Jerry was a wonderful man so full of joy and love and so very talented. We were so glad to see how happy you (Linda) and Jerry were together. The time you had was so special. We will miss Jerry and were blessed for having known him.
Our thoughts and prayers will be with you all.
Love, Jakki and Wayne
Dear Linda: We are so terribly sorry to hear of Jerry’s passing. Our thoughts and prayers are with you at this time. The last time I saw Jerry he was delivering flyers in our neighbourhood and he called to me. He always had such a beautiful smile.
Please call us if there is anything that we can do.
Love: Lorne & Heather
Linda and Family,
We were part of the “ICU Family” at TWH and experienced our shared concerns and prayed for each other’s loved ones in ICU. We were saddened by the news of Jerry’s passing and we will continue to keep you and your family in our thoughts and prayers.
Diane, Mike, Nicole, Denise, and Steve Sheehy
Linda,
Very sorry to hear about Jerry, I did not know the man. I fell that I know what you where going though. I know that you sent many days and nights right at his side or a quick sleep on the small couch in the wainting room. Deepest condolences to your family.
Michelle Tomkins
my dad was in the same room as Jerry for abit.
Dearest Jerry-
Through streams of tears, in a state of shock and with pain in my heart, I’ve spent the last few days remembering our almost twenty year friendship and the hundreds of gigs we’ve played together. And what a friendship it has been! When you make music and connect as players, a deep bond is created that can never be broken.
I’ve learned so much about music from you. You’ve been a huge inspiration to me and a patient and generous friend and music partner. Quite an irony that a first generation Irish woman learned so much about Irish and Scottish music from an Italian from New Jersey. What amazing serendipity and synchronicity to have met in New York and then both begun parallel long distant relationships in Toronto.
We’ve had our ups and downs over the years but storms and cloudy days are weathered only by true friendships. I take solace in the fact that we talked just before my trip and expressed our mutual affection.
I will never pick up a mandolin without thinking of you and your big heart. I will miss your truly unique soul so much Jerry – we all will.
My heart goes out to Linda and her family and to Jerry’s dad and brother. You’re in my prayers.
Octi
Linda and family,
Jerry was a extraordinary being, he brought smiles, a great wit, and some of the most beautiful music that could stir the soul and warm the coldest heart. He will be remembered fondly and missed terribly.
Our hearts go out to you all during this time. We are soo sorry for your loss. We, who have been touched by Jerry in some way or another, or have reveled in his music, will hold him dearly in our hearts where he will never be forgotten.
Hugs,
Brandy and Geoff
What a sad shock to have heard this about Jerry!
Jerry joined our running group The Toronto Penguins a few years before moving out of Toronto.
We had many a laugh running alongside of Jerry, who was kind enough to slow down for me!
We also had the pleasure of seeing him play on the Danforth and at the Greenwood Subway station which was such another wonderful side of this man.
Although we haven’t seen him in the last few years, all of us Penguins have fond crazy Jerry memories!
He will be missed!
Dear Linda and family,
I am so sorry for your loss.
It has been several years since I’ve seen and played with Jerry — but he was such a big presence in the circle of musicians when I first took up fiddling in Toronto. He always had so much energy for the music.
I am so saddened and shocked by the news of his accident and sudden passing.
My thoughts are with you,
Karen
What a loss! I can’t believe he’s gone.
I first saw Jerry at October’s regular gig at the Unicorn. I had just moved from Sudbury, and I was so thrilled to find such great musicians playing the kind of music that I liked; the music that my late father had played. I was so impressed with Jerry’s playing; he was the first person I ever saw who could make jigs and reels rock on the mandolin, and I knew right away that I wanted to play with musicians of that caliber.
A little while after that we were hired to play at Slainte in Hamilton with Ben Grossman and Ian Goodfellow. On the break, Jerry and I started raving about Planxty, and I felt such a connection with him because of his youthful enthusiasm, and his way of expressing so strongly what he liked or didn’t like. We both expressed how much we had enjoyed the evening and looked forward to playing together more.
And we certainly did! We hired each other for gigs for many years, including a weekly session in Richmond Hill (which meant that he helped me practice my driving so that I could get my full license). We also shared a busking license. I learned so much from him, about accompaniment, other styles of music, and life. We also began playing his own compositions which I loved. Jerry is the one who encouraged me and convinced me that the fiddle tunes I wrote did matter and were worth doing.
It’s so sad and strange to know he’s gone. It feels like a big personal loss and a loss to the community. He will be missed.
Dear Linda and Family,
There are no words to express our deep sorrow at Jerry’s passing. We mourn with you.
We are glad that Jerry found the love and music that he yearned for in Canada and that his life was so rich with Linda’s love in particular and with wonderful friends and song.
Thank you Colin and Sarah for keeping us informed. It is so hard to be so far away and your postings and photos made us part of things.
All of you and Tom and Marty are in our thoughts and prayers and will continue to be in the days ahead.
Jerry will always be in our hearts.
Love, Rosemary, Bill, Theresa and Nate
To Jerry’s family and friends:
My deepest sympathies. I did not know Jerry well, but I certainly recognized that he was an incredible talent, and a truly lovely human being. He will be sorely missed. My thoughts are with you all.
Alicia Arcand
The Pirate Festival
We are very saddened by Jerry’s passing here at Urban Strategies . He was a very long term member of our “part time” family and many of us here have known him for a long time . He was unique . He was full of interest in what we do and how we do it . He always asked how you were. And if you were happy.He always let us know about his music and his “non corporate
” life. Sometimes he played for us.
I will never forget when we were designing our new office the architect said to us ” it”s a good thing you are getting new office space so that nice guy doesn’t have to have an office in the filing room any more. By the way our files are perfect and Jerry was the best reason to go there. We ‘ll miss him
George Dark
Managing Partner
USI INC
Linda, Colin & Mindy, Sarah and family.
I’m so sorry for your loss. I can’t imagine the range of emotions you’ve experienced in the last few weeks. You are all in my thoughts and prayers and I’m sending much love and hugs.
Take care of yourselves and each other.
This is rather hard… Jerry (or Gerry, when I knew him) was 1 of 2 friends I became close with when I moved to NJ from Brooklyn back in 1963. As is often the case, I lost touch with Jerry once he went into the service and always wondered what happened to him. So, you can imagine my surprise when I came across this web site. He used to come over to my parent’s house with his guitar and we’d “jam” (I played a bongo and a cymbol perched on an oil can) in the rec room with our friend Steve Dickens (who played bass in Jerry’s band back then). I played my first and only gig on drums in Jerry’s band (at the time) for a wedding (and sang my first solo); helped him fake being a rocker from Liverpool, which he carried on for several weeks to impress one of the girls in the neighborhood. Steve and I were with Jerry when he trashed his parents station wagon on a drive we weren’t supposed to be on to upstate NY (pulling out on to the highway he was paying so much attention to the coming cars he drove right into the median ditch). I remember both his parents being very quiet and mannerly, the Irish dad and the Italian mom who never seemed to have a clue what was going on his life (but they loved him I’m sure). I’m not terribly surprised Jerry’s life turned out as it did… he was always about music. I’m sure he’s found a jam session wherever he is…