Jerry L Throckmorton

Jerry L Throckmorton, 84 of Derby, passed away November 7, 2017. A Celebration of Life Gathering will be held on Sunday, November 12, 2017, from 2:00 until 4:00 p.m., at the Pierschbacher Funeral Home in Chariton. A private interment will take place at a later date at the Humeston Cemetery. Memorials may be made to Lucas County 4-H or the Derby Community Center. Jerry L Throckmorton was born October 27, 1933 on the family farm north of Humeston, Iowa, to Lafayette (Fay) Throckmorton and Opal May (Davis) Throckmorton. Jerry passed away peacefully surrounded by his family on November 7, 2017. He was a caretaker, a husband, a father, a mentor, and a grandfather among many other things. Jerry was the eldest of 5 siblings. He later helped welcome Burl, Max, Karen and Janet to the family. As a boy and young man, he helped his family on the farm. He attended Oehlman Country School and graduated from Derby High School in 1952. Jerry enjoyed playing basketball and baseball in high school. He was an avid fan of these sports for the rest of his life. His favorite teams were the Iowa Hawkeyes and the St Louis Cardinals. He was a very vocal fan. He was always ready for a good game of pitch. After graduation from high school, Jerry worked at Johnson Machine Works for a short time. He was a member of the Iowa National Guard and served for 6 years, attaining the rank of 2nd Lieutenant and was honorably discharged in July of 1958. Jerry was united in marriage to Barbara Stanley on June 11, 1955 in Wahoo, Nebraska. Jerry and Barbara were happily married for 49 years. They were blessed with 3 children, Jeffrey Alan, Jennifer Ann and Jason Andrew. Jerry worked at Solar Aircraft in Des Moines for 7 years and then for Northwestern Bell Telephone for a short time, before purchasing the family farm in 1960 and moving the family back to Lucas County. Jerry milked cows, raised corn, soybeans, hay, pigs, and ran a cow/calf operation. Jerry was very good at what he did. He received many awards. He loved entering carcass contests. In 1975, he raised the Grand and Reserve Champion Market Steers at the Lucas County Fair. In 1993, he had the 1st Place Carcass in the Tri-County Carcass Futurity. He raised several Champion Advanced 4-H Feeder pens and carcass contest winners over the years. Jerry received the Iowa Master Corn Grower award in 1982 with a yield of 126.22 bushels to the acre. In 2016, Jerry received a Century Farm Award. The family got to spend a day at the State Fair and participate in this honor. Jerry's hard work, sweat equity, and love of animals (cattle in particular), has been passed onto his children and grandchildren. Many county fair & state fair shows have had kids showing Throckmorton cattle at them and the future looks very bright with his great-grandchildren already becoming interested in the cows. Jerry never asked you to do anything he wouldn't do himself. Jerry learned how to AI his cows in 1968 and bred all his cows for years. For nine of those years, he didn't even own a herd bull. Jerry served on the Lucas County Fairboard, Lucas County ASCS, and was a trustee for Union Township. He was a member of the Lucas County Cattlemen's Association and was the 2004 Hall of Fame inductee. Jerry was a Lucas County Farm Bureau member and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 2011, and was a Mason. He was named an Honorary 4-H Member in 1998. Jerry's grandchildren were very important to him. He taught all 4 of them how to drive. Many a neighbor has been surprised to meet Jerry's vehicles and see nothing but the bill of a cap behind the steering wheel and Jerry in the passenger seat coming down the road. They all loved to go stay with him. He always had a well-developed sense of humor that had a way of surprising you, when it popped out unexpectedly. He always loved a competitive game of Pitch. Every one of the 4 grandkids agreed that "Grandpa never said no". Jerry was preceded by his parents in death, Fay and Opal Throckmorton, and his wife Barbara. Those left to honor his memory are son, Jeff (Cindy) Throckmorton, of Derby; daughter, Jennifer Sponsler (Brian Linebaugh) of Derby; son, Jason Throckmorton of Humeston; grandchildren: Joe (Holly) Throckmorton of Humeston, Jake Throckmorton, of Woodburn, Amanda Sponsler of Unionville, MO, and Ryan Sponsler (Abby Wilson) of Chariton; great grandchildren: Jace, Carter, Sirus, and Max Throckmorton; brother, Burl (Merlene) Throckmorton of Oceanside, CA; brother, Max (Diane) Throckmorton of Diamond Bar, CA; sister, Karen Page of Kennesaw, GA; sister, Janet Carlton of Maysville, IA; and many other family members and close friends. Cemetery Details Humeston Cemetery Humeston, IA 50123