Jerrie Hawkins Trowbridge

The Earth lost an angel Saturday, October 2nd. Jerrie Hawkins Trowbridge, 70, lost her fight to ALS.  She passed peacefully, with a smile on her face, at home, in her sleep.

Though she will be missed desperately, her family is comforted knowing Jerrie is in heaven playing with her beloved sister Carol, shopping in all of the best stores heaven has to offer, playing pranks on other heavenly residents, planning themed parties, getting all the latest heavenly gossip, then repeating it all wrong and she is most definitely stopping at every garage sale heaven has to offer.  A good bit of her time in the afterlife will be spent trying her hardest to send messages to her loved ones, as promised (or threatened!) to keep them laughing. At this very moment, she is in heaven, sticking her tongue out at someone, guaranteed!

Missing her the most will be her one and only blind date, George “Rusty” Trowbridge.  That first date was fifty-three years ago, yet Rusty and Jerrie still lived everyday like they were newlyweds, caring for each other, taking care of each other, traveling to as many countries as they could, eating at every single restaurant they passed at least once, and logging so many hours on salt water that they both should have earned the title, “Captain.” Their fifty-two year marriage was a love story that many aspire but few achieve.  They were the other half of each other and rarely were without each other. That is what probably led to their ceaseless enjoyment of Hallmark movies and cheesy Rom-Com movies that they whole-heartedly believed in since it was the blueprint of their relationship.

When she wasn’t watching Hallmark movies, she was watching HGTV. Her passion for all things HGTV led her to “letting” all of her kids and grandkids do jobs for her in the house and the yard. When she could no longer work in her flower beds, she “let” whichever daughter, son-in-law, grandchild (or Rusty) do it for her. Even if you were a new friend of a grandchild’s coming over for the first time, she was going to make you feel included by “letting” you do a job for her. If Jerrie let you take the garbage out, you knew you were loved.

Her daughters, Kim Austin, Jennifer Stewart and Amy Jones were well-trained by Jerrie in the art of entertaining and party-planning and being the perfect hostess. Growing up, they learned from the best how to never meet a stranger, how to always make someone feel welcome and the necessity of having a gift-closet, just in case someone stopped by unexpectedly, since she felt no one should leave empty-handed. Her daughters grew-up knowing how to love, give and forgive, because that was what she did. They also grew up thick-skinned and not easily embarrassed since they never knew what was going to come out of their mom’s mouth!

Jerrie will also be missed by her sons-in-law, Paul Austin, Ted Stewart and Greg Jones, whom she  enjoyed spending time with, shopped for enthusiastically, and always kept cold beers in the fridge for. Her beloved support-animal, Chewy will miss her. Chewy took good care of his mom and will miss riding in her wheelchair with her, but has promised to look after Rusty in her absence.

Her grandchildren, who she thought knew all of the secrets of all electronics everywhere, will miss her an awful lot. Their Mimi was fun, crazy, unpredictable and loving. Fischer Austin, India Austin, Libby Austin, Brooks Austin, Mary Taylor Jones, Cobi Pepperman, Phoebe Pepperman, and Gregor Jones will carry into their own families all the things their Mimi taught them; how to be kind and spontaneous, like planning outings to get snow-cones for dinner; how to stay married to the same person for over half a century; how to be generous and give with your whole heart; how to cheat at cards with such a sweet smile on your face that they never saw it coming. There were a few things their Mimi tried to teach them that luckily didn’t stick, like how to pronounce vowels or the desire to own a miniature donkey.

Jerrie packed a lot of living and loving in 70 years. She lived a life of blessings beyond measure. Let us not weep for her, for now she in pain free. She will be waiting at the gates of heaven for each and every one of us, smiling her sweet smile, eager to hear what you’ve been up to, and you can best believe that she has a big-themed party planned for you, a pot of red beans simmering on the stove and a cold beer in the fridge.

A gathering will be on Friday, October 8, 2021, from 5 - 7 at the Riemann Family Funeral Home, 19130 Commission Road, Long Beach.  A Celebration of her life will be at 7 pm in the chapel.  A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11 am Saturday at St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 720 East Beach Blvd, Long Beach.