Kerry Q. Witwer Obituary

Kerry Q. Witwer attended Grand Island High School in Grand Island, NE. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Kerry Q. Witwer.

Graduation Year	Class of 1961
Date of Passing	Oct 12, 2014
About	Kerry Quinn Witwer, the son of Virginia (King) Maroney and Lloyd Carlson, was born on July 24,1942 in Seattle, Washington. He passed away on Sunday, October 12,2014 at his home in Shingle Springs, CA at the age of 72 years, 3 months and 19 days. Kerry attended Kindergarten in Bremerton, Washington, where his grandmother lived. He then attended Platte School in 1st grade in Grand Island, Nebraska. He stayed with his 1st grade classmates through the 7th grade. He then went to Stolley Park in 8th grade and Walnut Jr. High in 9th grade. Then he graduated from Grand Island Senior High School with the class of 1961. Kerry was baptized and confirmed in the Ruskin Lutheran Church in 1971. On January 16, 1971, he was united in marriage to Dianne Schultz at the Ruskin Lutheran Church in Ruskin, Nebraska. To this union in marriage was born 4 children, Jason, Justin, Laura, and Josh. Kerry was a member of the St. Stephens Lutheran Church in El Dorado Hills, CA while his children were growing up. He took an active part on the Sierrama Road Association, as well as supported the Frank Ledesma Elementary School with special projects. He worked in the restaurant business both in Grand Island and in Lincoln, Nebraska with the Neiman family, who ended up being his mentors and best friends. Then he started working at Brunswick, a National Defense Company at the age of 18 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He worked there for 20 years and then moved to California as he was head-hunted by a company called Aerojet , which is close to Sacramento, CA. Kerry began his career in 1983 with Aerojet Solid Propulsion Company as a manufacturing engineer in the production group, overseeing the building of various rocket motor components. Later, he transitioned into research and development where he made himself known as one of Aerojet’s “go to” guys for his ability to make and fix precision components used on various programs (including the space shuttle) and many other R&D projects. His intellect and problem-solving capability were second to none and highly valued by his co-workers. Kerry worked for the company for 31 years until the day he passed. Through his many years of service, he developed positive, supportive, respectful working relationships and always enjoyed working with people. Kerry was preceded in death by his parents, stepparents, and grandparents. He is survived by his wife, Dianne Witwer, of Shingle Springs, CA; his children Jason and wife Jana of Concord, CA; Justin and wife to be, Yunhe Peters of El Dorado Hills, CA; Laura Gelfand and husband Gabriel of Folsom, CA; and Josh of Huntington Beach, CA. He also had 2 grandchildren, Madeline Witwer and Oliver Gelfand. He is also survived by his brother Winston and wife Sandy Witwer from Hereford, AZ and his brother Michael from Superior, NE, along with a host of relatives and friends. Kerry was passionate about giving to those charities in need. He loved motor cycles, go-carts, books, vintage cars, bicycles, and tricycles. He was a loving husband, caring & giving father, supportive brother, and a dedicated worker. Everyone around him knew that he served as a “rock” by giving them words of wisdom and ongoing support. He loved being around his family and work friends as much as possible.