Gerald “Jerry” T. Bean, 94, of Springfield, VA, passed away on May 18, 2025, at his daughter’s home in Front Royal, VA.
Gerald “Jerry” T. Bean
A funeral service will be held at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 24, at Maddox Funeral Home, with Pastor Eric Reploeg officiating. Burial will follow at 3:00 p.m. in National Memorial Park in Falls Church, VA. The family will receive friends one hour prior to the service.
Gerald was born and raised in Marion, IL. He was the son of Thomas and Vida Bean and the younger brother of Patricia. He said he got the nickname “Jerry” from a comic strip called Jerry on the Job.
He graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physics from Southern Illinois University and was drafted into the Army near the end of the Korean War. He was discharged two years later. A highlight of his Army time was winning a choral competition on the radio program “On Parade.” After this, he was hired as a civilian in Research and Development for the Army, where he spent 30 years of his career.
He met Mary Lou at Mt. Vernon Place United Methodist Church in D.C. on an outing to the beach and pursued her to Georgia, where she had taken a job. In 1957, they married, and after a few years in an apartment on Duke St., they set up a house in Springfield, VA, where they raised their children and remained for their 64 years of marriage.
Jerry had many interests and was an avid reader of a wide variety of non-fiction. He earned his private pilot’s license, enjoyed shooting sports and photography, following the stock market, and religiously read comic strips, which he often clipped to share with others. He enjoyed music, particularly guitar, and built a dulcimer once. He loved puns and liked to share a good joke, a story, or information about whatever book, or two or three, he was reading at the time. His love of wildlife kept him feeding the squirrels and birds in the backyard, and he even stayed with an abandoned baby squirrel for one year. In later years, his routine included tai chi, making biscuits, and walking five miles each morning.
Jerry retired from work in 1985. He and Mary Lou were generous with their time, talents, and money in their service at Mt. Vernon Place and in their community. In their 80s, they were still making sure that other people arrived at church or made it to appointments.
After Mary Lou’s death in 2021, he moved to Front Royal to be near his children and grandson. Although it was a big adjustment, he made the transition admirably and spent his last few years living with his family.
Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, Thomas and Vida Ester (Cocke) Bean; sibling, Patricia (Bean) Collins; and wife, Mary Lou (Boggs) Bean
He is survived by his son, Eric Bean; daughter, Janet Jewell (Tony); grandson, Raymond T. Jewell; and nephew, Peter Collins.