Jerry Touchstone

 Jerald (Jerry) Elbert Touchstone of Emmett, Idaho, passed away on November 8, 2022, after battling bone marrow cancer for 8½ years. Jerry was born on April 6, 1939 to James and Mary Elizabeth Touchstone in Miami, Florida.  Jerry spent his early years in Florida until the family moved cross-country from Miami to Seattle and eventually moved to Wise River, Montana, where Jerry would spend most of his childhood.

 Jerry finished his schooling at Santa Fe Springs High School. After high school, he attended Fullerton Junior College, where he studied drafting. In 1960, the Touchstone family moved to Ontario, OR, and lived next door to Jerry's future wife, Sharon Findley.  He was drafted into the United States Army and stationed in France during the Vietnam War, where he served as a fixed-station cryptographer.

 Jerry returned to Ontario, and in June of 1966, he married his forever love, Sharon Findley. They lived in Boise for ten years, where he worked for US West Telephone Co. He transferred to Emmett, ID, in 1975, and in 1978, they bought the property out on Morehouse Rd. where they still reside today. While living in Boise, Jerry and Sharron were members of Baptist Temple Church, serving in several ministries. He was a member of the Gem County Sheriff Posse, the Gem State, and Pollen Dauber Iris Societies, where he won several artistic design awards. He loved riding the BLM range, gathering cattle in the fall, and later at his father-in-law's Ranch at Ironside. After 25 years with US West, he retired, returned to school, and got his Journeyman Electrical license. He was a self-employed electrician for 20 years.

 He spent much of his free time as an adult in the woods, camping, hiking, fishing, and hunting. His deep love of the outdoors was one of the many virtues he passed on to his kids and grandkids; Jerry's love for the outdoors, and his family, was only surpassed by his love of Jesus. Jerry dedicated his life to serving and building the Kingdom of God. He served as a youth leader, Sunday school teacher, and music director, sang in the choir and was a long-time deacon of Grace Baptist Church, where they were some of the original members in the 1970s. In the early 1990s, Jerry and Sharon played an instrumental role in bringing AWANA clubs to Emmett.  He saw hundreds of children give their lives to the Lord,

 Jerry is preceded in death by his parents, James and Mary Elizabeth Touchstone; his brothers, Earl and Scott Touchstone, and several beloved nephews, cousins, and in-laws.

 He is survived by spouse, Sharon Touchstone; children, Jaymz (Cheryl) Touchstone, Jerald (Katie) Touchstone, Justin (Allison) Touchstone, Janet (Lance) Drake, Markus (Ayla) Touchstone, and Brian (Carrie) Touchstone; siblings Mary Ellen Juhr and Diana Cole; twenty grandchildren; two great-grandchildren; many nieces and nephews, and lots of honorary grandchildren who lovingly refer to him as Grandpa Jerry.

 Memorial services will be held at the Potter Funeral Chapel in Emmett on Friday, November 18, 2022, at 3:00 pm. Charitable donations can be made in Jerry's name to the Emmett AWANA club at Calvary Chapel Emmett, or the AWANA Go campaign https://www.awana.org/africaschoolsproject-donate or to The Village of Light School for the Blind in Togo, Africa (where his son Jerald and Katie Touchstone serve as missionaries) at https://abwe.org/work/projects/togo-blind-centervillage-light. 

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