Jerry Hoy, a lifelong world traveler, began his last journey surrounded by a circle of friends and family and left at sunset on October 8th, 2012.

Jerry was born on January 12th, 1943 in Oakland, California but grew up in California State Parks as the eldest son of a state park ranger and a registered nurse turned stay-at- home mom. He is survived by a brother, two sisters, several nieces and nephews, many great nieces and great nephews and a loyal tribe of dear and diverse friends all over the world.

Jerry left home at age 12 to live with his uncle Ken’s family in Santa Ana, California. He graduated from Santa Ana High School and went on to study Drama at Orange Coast Junior College in Costa Mesa, California. 

Jerry first worked for Uncle Ken delivering eggs in Santa Ana. He worked on a traveling magazine crew and he later sold life insurance in the Panama Canal Zone. Most of his life’s work was as a Psych. Tech and he worked for nearly 30 years at Fairview State Hospital, Sonoma State Hospital, San Francisco Crisis Clinic, Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and at Napa Developmental Center. 

Jerry worked to live and travel, working for a couple of years and then traveling for a couple of years on extended adventures to Central and South America, Cuba, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco, Africa, Eastern Europe and Australia. When Jerry came home he always brought fabulous photos and amazing stories to share with friends and family and other armchair travelers. Jerry thoroughly enjoyed reunion with home and friends for a few weeks. But then he would  inevitably begin to save and plan for his next big adventure. 

His last and favorite job was as a tour guide for Titan Tours of England. Jerry thoroughly prepared and enjoyed guiding groups of British retirees on tours of Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Reno, and all the popular California tourist sites from San Diego to San Francisco including Yosemite Valley. Jerry’s tours included his research and history re-told in his own stories and added theme songs for points of interest at each destination.

Jerry was very grounded in his own space and co-owned his first home and extended communal property at McCoy Creek near Garberville with a friend.  When they sold that, Jerry found a small cabin along the Russian River near Forestville, California. Over the course of more than thirty-five years, he worked to transform it into the house of his dreams with stained glass windows, verdant gardens and spectacular views of the redwoods and river below. That beautiful and quirky creation was a distillation of his travels and  the cultures he had come to know in his many adventures.

Finally confronted with the diagnosis of a terminal illness last year, Jerry reluctantly decided to sell his creation and to begin to prepare for his last journey. He left this world surrounded by love, a gentle soul who lived life on his own terms. Jerry will be remembered and loved by all who knew him as a friend who made us all feel cherished and special.

Now he is finally free for limitless travel.