Retired Lieutenant Colonel Gerald W Boston

Lieutenant Colonel Gerald W. Boston, USMC (Ret) of Baneberry, TN passed away on November 23, 2021. Born in Oklahoma on August 23, 1935, of Cherokee heritage he lived much of his youth in Jefferson County. He is a graduate of Knoxville’s Central High School, attended Carson Newman College, and graduated from the University of Tennessee where he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1959.

His military career led him to the war in Vietnam twice where he served with the 9th Marines near the DMZ and during the Tet Offensive and later as an advisor to the South Vietnamese Marines in Quang Tri Province. A graduate of the Marine Corps Command and Staff College at Quantico, he also served at the Marine Barracks in Rota Spain, Marine Headquarters in Washington DC and commanded the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marines in Hawaii. Jerry retired from the service in 1982 after a very successful 23-year career.

After the military, he and his wife Marilynn transitioned to civilian life and enjoyed their horses on a small rancho in Los Gatos, CA. He also worked in the Silicon Valley at Atari Corporation and subsequently at Sun Microsystems where he built several high-tech campuses and business hubs across the United States. Retiring again in 1994, they returned to Jefferson County where he indulged his interests in history and model railroading while remaining active in Baneberry City Government and the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce.

Jerry’s legacy of love includes his 63-year marriage to the former Marilynn Haws of Knoxville, his daughter Karen Young of Vancouver, WA and his son Colonel Gerald Boston, USA (Ret) of Austin TX who together have given Jerry and Marilynn four grandchildren, five great grandchildren, son-in-law Kevin Young and daughter-in-law Candis Boston. He was preceded in death by his father the Reverend J. Frank Boston, his mother Mayme Boston, and his sister Holly Powell.

A military service will be conducted at the East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery at a later date.

Arrangements by Stetzer-Bales Funeral Home, Morristown, TN.

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