Jerry Blood, Husband Of Nurse Barbara Blood, & Meat Cutter At Parks Place In 1980s

Gerald “Jerry” Everett Blood, beloved husband of Barbara Blood and devoted father and grandfather, passed into the Lord’s presence surrounded by his family, on Sunday, March 22, 2026, in Fairbanks, after a 10-year battle with chronic lymphoma and heart disease.

He was born on August 22, 1944, in Douglas, Arizona, while his father was serving in the U.S. Army. When he was two, he and his parents moved to Seattle.

In 1955 the family moved to Fairbanks, for his father to work as a meat cutter at a local grocery store. Jerry graduated from Lathrop High School in 1963 and then attended the University of Alaska for one year. He was drafted into the Army in 1965 and served one year in Viet Nam, 1966 to 1967. After discharge he joined his family, who had moved to Anchorage. There Jerry followed in his father’s footsteps as a meat cutter, working at Anchorage Cold Storage.

In 1978 he began work at Park’s Place grocery in Glennallen. It was there that he and Barb met while she was serving as a missionary nurse at Faith Hospital.

They went on their first date in July of 1980, got engaged in September and married in December of that same year. Barb described it as a “whirlwind romance,” but one that would last 45 years. They were blessed with two children, Janie in 1983 and Matthew in 1985. The family moved to Haines in 1990 for Jerry to begin work as a meat cutter at Food Center. After serving 13 years as a volunteer firefighter/EMT, he was hired by the Haines Volunteer Fire Department as a paid employee for the remaining years of his working life, retiring at age 66.

Jerry turned his life over to his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, through the ministry of Victory Bible Camp in 1972. For five years, he would leave his job in Anchorage for the summer and volunteer as the horse wrangler at the camp. He went on to become an elder and deacon, Sunday School teacher, and kids’ club leader, both at Glennallen Community Chapel and then at Port Chilkoot Bible Church in Haines.

Throughout the years in Glennallen and Haines he was known as a good and kindhearted man, a hard worker and a committed volunteer. He was especially known for his woodcutting skills. Even after he didn’t need wood to heat his own home, he continued cutting, splitting and stacking wood as a gift for others. He was famous for his neat stacks of firewood, having three years’ worth of wood stacked, ready and dried for the cold winters.

He was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He adored his five grandchildren, the ones in Sitka and the ones in Fairbanks. In 2020, he and Barb bought a condo to be “snow birds” in Sitka, but due to his failing health they made Sitka their permanent residence in 2025. He loved living near his two Sitka granddaughters, but made frequent trips to Fairbanks to see the grandkids there as well. His Fairbanks family loved traveling to Sitka to spend time with him.

Survivors include his wife, Barbara, and their two children, Janie Hall (Tim) of Sitka and Matthew Blood (Holly) of Fairbanks; five grandchildren, Natalie and Grace Hall and Taylor, Makenna and Charlie Blood; one brother, Derryl Blood (Jenett); and two brothers- in-law, Bob (Carol) and Paul (Wendy).

He was preceded in death by his parents and two brothers.

Donations may be made in his memory to Echo Ranch Bible Camp Haines, PO Box 210608, Auke Bay, AK 99801.

His ashes will be laid to rest at Sitka National Cemetery at a later date.