BOMBER MEMORIAL

JEROME SKINNER ~ Class of 1965
May 21, 1946 - May 31, 2012

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Our beloved Jerome Skinner passed from this life Thursday, May 31, 2012, surrounded by his family. Jerome was born May 21, 1946 in Waynesboro, GA, being the first born child of his mother, Eddie Lee Skinner. Jerome loved God, his family and his friends. He accepted Christ as his savior and loved his church family. He worshipped with the Richland Church of Christ congregation.

Jerome married Verneice Wallace on October 1, 1966; and God gave them three beautiful presents, daughters Lynette Sewell (Ricky) and Raelynn Soldat (Dennis), and son Anthony (Mouna), plus bonus gifts of seven lovely grandchildren. As a family man Jerome read the Bible to his children, attended all of his children's activities, bought his granddaughter a car when she needed one, babysat his grandchildren, delivered a granddaughter to school each morning, and played games with the family, occasionally sneaking upstairs to look up a word for Scrabble, admittedly being a terrible speller. He had scheduled talks with his son on Fridays. He never forgot his anniversary and always remembered family members' birthdates.

Jerome was an avid bridge player and as a member of the American Contract Bridge League, Tri-Cities Unit 442, achieved the level of a Bronze Life Master. While Jerome served a year as president of Unit 442 in January 2009, his greatest service was helping his older fellow bridge players on walkers or scooters get in and out of their cars and into the building for bridge and giving them rides to and from bridge games.

Jerome loved cars and as a teenager enjoyed racing his friends in his green 1956 Chevy or his mom's blue Ford Mercury. He'd planned to restore his yellow 1968 Pontiac GTO, but chose to help his granddaughter with college instead. He graduated from Eastern Washington University with a B.A. Degree in business administration and retired as a Contract Specialist after 35 years with Battelle Memorial Institute.

Besides his wife, children, grandchildren, and mother, Jerome leaves to mourn his brothers, Kenneth, Richland, WA, Byron and Brian, Kennewick, WA; sisters Ida, Kennewick, WA, and Belinda, Los Angeles, CA; and a host of nieces, nephews and in-laws.

He was preceded in death by his brother John ('69) and grandmother, Ida Jones.

Thanks, Jerome, for the love and joy you brought into our lives.

Graveside service will be held on Friday, June 15, 2012, at 10am at Sunset Memorial Gardens hosted by Einan's Funeral Home, 915 By-Pass Highway, Richland, with a Memorial service following at 11am at Richland Church of Christ, 933 Thayer Drive, Richland.

Express your thoughts and memories in the online guest book at www.einansfuneralhome.com