Gerald “Jerry” Kucera, 71, passed away at his longtime home in Richland, WA on March 30 after a hard fought battle with lung cancer. Jerry was born in August, 1945 in Scappoose, Oregon.

In high school, he loved his sports:  football, basketball, and track.  He is most remembered for track events in which he set school records in long jump and hurdles.  His records held for more than 30 years and in 2000, he was inducted into his high school Hall of Fame.  His accomplishments in track helped him to get an athletic scholarship to Seton Hall University in New Jersey. After an injury at Seton Hall, he transferred to the University of Oregon, where he finished out his college years with a degree in Math.

Jerry began his career immediately after graduation, landing a job in Richland, WA with Computer Sciences Corp, a Hanford Contractor.  After 7 years with CSC, he was hired by Washington Public Power Supply System (WPPSS) – now known as Energy Northwest.  Starting in Data Processing, his career advanced to Controller, Chief Financial Officer (CFO), and ultimately Vice President. He retired in 2003 after 29 years at the public energy company.

Throughout the years, Jerry was involved in community service; starting with high school service clubs, Grid Kids football coach, United Way board member and officer and more recently served on the Tri-Cities Food Bank as Vice President.

Jerry loved to play sports.  He enjoyed playing rec. league basketball, slow pitch softball, snow skiing, water skiing, and golf. Retirement allowed him to truly enjoy playing golf with his buddies at Meadow Springs. But the most important thing to Jerry was family. 

Jerry always had a love for the beach and in 2001; he fulfilled a lifelong dream of owning a vacation home on the Oregon coast. After retirement in 2003, he became a consultant for another new development on the Washington Coast called Seabrook. 

When at home in Richland, Jerry spent many happy hours in his yard and garden. Along with his wife Anita, they enjoyed many wonderful trips. Every February, they usually joined other family members in Hawaii.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Thursday, April 6, 2017 at 4:00pm followed by a reception located at Events at Sunset, 915 ByPass Hwy in Richland.

His family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions can be made to either the Tri-Cities Food Bank  by calling 509-582-0411(tricitiesfoodbank.org) or Hospice at Chaplaincy, 2108 W. Entiat Kennewick, WA  99336.