Jerry Naylor obit

Jerry Naylor Jackson 1939 - 2019

 He was not on the list.

Jerry Naylor Jackson, age 80, went home to be with the Lord on Thursday, December 5, 2019, after battling a long illness. He was born March 6, 1939, in Chalk Mountain, Texas. He was preceded in his death by his mother, Mary Bernice; his father, Guy; his nephew, Gary; his older brother, Don; and his eldest son, Geoff. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Pamela; his sister, Nell; his children, Kelli (Robert) Dobryznski and Greg (Lori) Naylor; six grandchildren, Arin (Ethan) LaBerge, Jac k, Emma, Ryan, Trevor and Grace; as well as one great-grandchild, Lily; and three nieces and two nephews.

His mother played piano in their local church and encouraged Jerry’s love of music at a very young age, which grew over the rest of his life. At the age of 9, he purchased his first guitar with earnings from picking cotton and by the time he was 12, he was playing at local honkytonks. By age 14, he was a disc jockey at a local radio station and his passion kept growing from there.

Jerry captivated audiences his whole life with his music and charisma. He was the lead singer of the rockabilly band The Cavaliers until he joined the Army in 1957 and was stationed in Germany. Afterward, in 1961, while living in California, Jerry was asked to be the front man as the lead singer of The Crickets during the Liberty years. He appeared in two motion pictures with The Crickets, “Just for Fun” in 1963 and “The Girls on the Beach” in 1965. After his tenure with The Crickets, Jerry had a successful solo music career in many different genres and was inducted into the Rockabilly Hall of Fame. He was a recording artist, television and radio personality, singer-songwriter and author, including writing and performing music well into his late 70s.

Jerry was very active in politics in the late '70s and '80s, with the highlight being President Reagan’s Special Events Director during his 1980 campaign.

In January 30, 1966, Jerry married Pamela Ann Robinson, and they built a life and raised a family in Southern California before retiring to Oregon.

A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. Saturday, December 28, at Calvary Chapel in McMinnville, Oregon.