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With sympathy and love, we share that Deacon Jerry Showalter (88) passed peacefully on the morning of Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at Camden Clark Medical Center in Parkersburg, while morning prayers were being said by his bedside. Jerry was foremost a father to his three daughters and five sons, and the example he set through 69 years of adoring marriage served as a powerful and successful example to his children. Jerry was unapologetically Catholic and raised his children in the Faith, but he left room for each of his children to find God as individuals. He preferred to model his beliefs, rather than debate them, and three generations of his offspring cherished the constant presence of his love. Jerry often recalled truly hearing God for the first time in the silence of the Hughes River, rowing a boat as a child, and he continued to find spiritual clarity and strength in the stillness of the outdoors. Jerry later felt strongly called to the clergy. Jerry was ordained a Catholic permanent deacon in 1981 and became the longest serving permanent deacon in the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston. Over forty-five years of service, Jerry supported parishioners across West Virginia and adjacent states, and he became a fixture at his home parish of St. Margaret Mary in Parkersburg, where he supported wide-ranging programs, helped celebrate the Mass, proclaimed the Gospel, and preached homilies that often focused on the earthly requirements of living a good, spiritual life. He understood he had committed to always serve as a deacon and strived to set an example and care for the spiritual and physical welfare of others regardless of time or place. Many people will remember Jerry from his thirty-one years as a union ironworker, building infrastructure across the mid-Ohio Valley and as far away as Washington, DC, and Louisville, KY. Jerry never planned this route in life, but when his own father was injured on a construction site in 1955, Jerry went to work to support his mother and family in the closing days of his senior year at Parkersburg High School, returning only to graduate with his class. Over the following decades, Jerry was frequently forced to take work far from home to provide for his steadily growing family, but he would travel hundreds of miles after finishing each week to spend as much time as possible at home. After his own injuries led him to retire from ironworking in 1986, Jerry would often share the joy he had felt looking out on creation from high upon the iron, and he would sometimes recall the hardships of working in the bitter cold and the blazing heat. On rare occasions, he would describe the terrible day in April 1978 when he, his crew, and his eldest son helped recover bodies from the Willow Island cooling tower collapse -- the deadliest construction accident in U.S. history. After ironworking, Jerry went on to complete a master's degree in education, and former students will remember his service as a K-8 public school teacher in Parkersburg/Wood County and the surrounding area from 1990 to 2000. Jerry loved being a teacher and treasured helping young people understand the practical value of the material they learned. Jerry ended his working life over a wonderful five-year period of accompanying his youngest son in traveling over the plains of Ohio and the mountains of West Virginia to perform surveying projects -- and stopping for an ice cream cone at the end of each day, when possible. Jerry was an avid reader, loved writing and creating art, appreciated fine food, and would not say "no" to a drop of whiskey, served neat, if offered. He is survived by his loving wife of 69 years, Bobbie (Brown); his children Lyman, Steven, Catherine (Wharton), Susan (Showalter-Bucher), Patrick, John, and William; his sons-in-law Deacon Steve Wharton, Michael Oliver, and Richard Bucher; his daughters-in-law Marcy (Hoard), Karen (Hughes), Rachel (Twardzik), Janel (McCarthy), and Jill (Ritchie); and, at last count, 62 grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Jerry was predeceased by his beloved daughter Linda (Oliver) in April 2026 and by his sisters Jennie (Stephenson) and Josie (Canary).
Mass of Christian Burial will be Monday 11AM at the Saint Margaret Mary Catholic Church with Bishop Emeritus Mark E. Brennan officiating. Interment will follow at Mount Carmel Cemetery. Visitation will be Sunday 2-5 PM at the Leavitt Funeral Home, Parkersburg with Catholic wake service immediately following, Most Reverend Evelio Menjivar-Ayala officiating.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.leavittfuneralhome.com.