Gerry (Geraldine) Elizabeth Kilgore Vandervort, born Sept. 13, 1932, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, exactly one week short of her 90th birthday. Gerry was a native of El Paso, Texas, but spent 14 happy years living in Poplar Bluff.
She had a wonderful life in El Paso, raising her two children and living a full and active life. She became a teacher later in life, after learning Spanish as an adult. She was a much-loved and well-respected Spanish and American History teacher in the El Paso community.
Retirement from teaching did not slow Gerry down. At the age of 67, she joined her daughter, Libby, and four grandchildren in Poplar Bluff. She found a house she loved, turning it into her home. In her early years here, she often served as a long-term substitute teacher at the junior high, especially happy when she could share her love of speaking Spanish with her students. She was thrilled when she found Spanish-speakers in our community so she could keep practicing her skills. She often interpreted for and helped newcomers.
She baked cookies with grandsons Kelsey and Casey and together they would walk down to the creek in the back of her house, a place the boys nicknamed Mo’s Palace. She performed in church pageants and made fellowship goodies whenever her daughter asked. She escorted granddaughter Lindsay and fellow girl scouts to a Massachusetts Sports Camp. She flew by herself to Europe to visit Lindsay; the two of them made their way through Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Greece, Austria, and Lichtenstein (all in those days before smartphones), making memories that Lindsay will never forget. She happily flew with grandson Corey to visit Lindsay and husband Jon in Jordan and Israel. She did anything her grandkids asked. Most importantly, she simply, always, loved them.
She loved music and singing (her greatest disappointment was that the rest of us were not as musically inclined) and sang in the Chancel Choir at First United Methodist Church, serving as choir secretary. It was a joy for her to be able to sing with Pam and the choir during those years. She was an active member of the Wesleyan Sunday School class and of PEO Chapter KB.
It didn’t take her long to join worthwhile organizations in PB, including Habitat for Humanity. The group had spent many years raising money and attempting to build homes but had never quite gotten a home actually started. It wasn’t long after she and her good friend Mary Shock (a truly dynamic duo) joined the board that houses started being built. Gerry counseled the home buyers, gently but firmly advising them about the importance of paying bills first. She actively participated in the physical home building, climbing onto roof trusses well into her 70s, painting and dry-walling with her grandsons (and the grandsons’ friends) she talked into helping. She learned well, later instructing her grandsons in walling up a doorway in their own home. She and Mary spent hours together planning major Habitat fundraisers, producing many years’ worth of successful Home and Garden Shows, as well as numerous motorcycle charity rides.
Gerry was active at Margaret Harwell Art Museum, serving as board member and president of the Friends of MHAM for years. She directed the production of so many fundraising events (St. Patrick’s Day, the Black & White Affair, a Halloween Nightmare on Main Street among many others), the annual Children’s Art on the Run fall festival, art show receptions, and also ran the gift shop. While the idea of a Sculpture Garden had long been in the planning stages, it was during her term as president of the Friends that the garden came to fruition. By then, she had talked Libby into also joining the Friend’s Board. Together with other board members, they had the best time planning the grand opening of the sculpture garden. Being a member of the Friend’s Board gave Gerry a chance to showcase her hosting and cooking talents; making people feel welcome and comfortable was a priority for her. She was always gracious, always had a welcoming smile. As Steve Whitworth said, she was refined, learned, and elegant.
When early signs of dementia began (something you only really know for sure in hindsight), Gerry and Libby chose to return home to El Paso, where son Bruce and favorite sister Cleo resided. By then, her grandchildren were grown and living their own lives in different parts of the country. Even as she was declining, though, she was responsible for bringing her entire family together again, as everyone willingly uprooted themselves to move to El Paso to lovingly care for her. Corey sold his PB house and found a new job, followed by Lindsay and husband Jon who did the same thing from Ohio. Together, they all lived in the new family home, with Casey arriving two years later. (Kelsey was the only one who didn’t actually live in the house, which was a good thing because there really wasn’t any room for him. He visited as often as possible and then he gave his Mo (the name the grandkids called her) a gift she would have loved: he met and married Spanish-speaking Kaily Serralta. If there are any regrets, it’s that Mo didn’t get to sit and speak the language she loved with her new granddaughter-in-law.)
The last nine years in El Paso, while oftentimes horrible, were also wonderful in so many ways. Lindsay and the great-grandkids kept Gerry busy with all their daily activities. Watching Hannah and Caedon grow kept her smiling. Corey and Bruce took Mother out for lunch every week. As things progressed and needs changed, Casey stepped up to take care of her daily needs. Together, we were with her through the hardest years of her life. We were honored to be by her side as she took her last breaths and left us for a better place. This family has been blessed beyond measure by Gerry, Mother, Mo. She gave us the gift of family and love and that is a legacy to be proud of. Hers was a life well-lived and we are all better people for having had her in our lives.
Gerry is survived by her sister Cleo Wilkin; two children, Libby and Bruce (Linda); five grandchildren, Lindsay (Jon) Kronmiller, Corey Brown, Kelsey (Kaily) Brown, Casey Brown, Jason Vandervort, and two great-grandchildren, Hannah and Caedon Kronmiller.
A Celebration of Life/Visitation will be held in the family home (421 Indian Bluff Rd., El Paso, Texas 79912) on Thursday, Oct. 6. In the days after, we will gather together for meals and stories, something she would most assuredly approve of. Those wishing to remember and honor her memory are asked to contribute to Friends of MHAM, First Methodist Chancel Choir, or Habitat for Humanity. Gerry, Libby, and the kids loved their time in PB. Thanks for the memories, dear friends.