JERRY WAYNE

SCHIRM

Jerry Wayne “Bompa” Schirm, 79, of Chandler, Arizona, passed away on September 26, 2026, at the Cape Canaveral Hospital in Cocoa Beach, Florida unexpectedly at the onset of his latest adventure, a Disney cruise.

Born August 27, 1947 in Vinton, Iowa, Jerry learned the value of a hard day’s work while also falling in love with baseball and golf. His family moved to Colorado before high school where he found his sport of choice, gymnastics. Golf and baseball along with his studies instilled in him the best of values, always ensuring everything was left better than he found it.

In Colorado, Jerry discovered three enduring loves: gymnastics, the mountains, and, in his words, a brilliant blonde bombshell. Those passions led to a full-ride scholarship to the University of Denver, a stint as a ski bum, and a lifetime with his beloved wife. In heaven, he is now performing his state-championship iron cross, powering through moguls with his trademark “thunder thighs,” or reliving the beautiful love story with his wife. He met Joanne on the slopes of Breckenridge, Colorado, on Super Bowl Sunday in 1974, and was instantly smitten when she sprayed him with snow on their first run. They married on July 5, 1975, and shared 51 years together. She was by his side for one last kiss, carrying a lifetime of love, just before he left.

Not to be defined by a singularity, Jerry’s career was as diverse as the man himself. He earned a degree in Biology, then worked on a battery that supported the space shuttle. Later he worked in utilities management, ran and operated his own water management consulting company, worked in numerous hardware stores, as a handyman, and perfected the greens on golf courses in Minnesota and Arizona. His choice of careers mirrored his main purpose in life, to give more than one received while remaining grateful. A consummate leader and teacher, he thrived building talent and the next generations.

He is survived by his wife, Joanne (nee Mackey); his two sons, Christopher (Tiffany) Schirm of Stuttgart, Germany and Benjamin “Benjy” (Danielle) Schirm of Buffalo, MN; his grandchildren Georgia, Theodore, Jude, and Ivy; his brother, Lester “Lindy” Schirm; his sisters Judy Heiser and Cindy (Rich) Tupper; numerous Nieces and Nephews, Cousins, and his Chocolate Lab Buff. He was preceded in death by his parents, Lester and Lois Schirm, his brother Dennis Schirm, and his beloved pups (Schnapsie, Max, Grizzy, and Casey).

To know him was to look love in the face and have it hug you back. His warm smile, quick wit, love of his two boys, sportsmanship, and his passion for service in helping others radiated from him every day. In his retirement years, Jerry never stopped learning. He rebuilt a Volkswagen Super Beetle, traveled throughout Africa, Asia, and Europe, peacefully protested injustice, and learned to play the piano at age 78. But perhaps the greatest skill he learned was being a grandfather. His four grandchildren loved how Bompa read bedtime stories, helped them pick oranges and grapefruit from his backyard, and gave them the best hugs in the world. And while they might groan that Bompa seemed to always watch sports, he never missed a chance to get into the pool with them while Buff raced around the edge and barked encouragingly.

Without fanfare or any warning - in just his Jerry way - he is now off into the cornfield of dreams. No doubt, he is giving Shoeless Joe Jackson a hint on his swing or a tip to the heavenly groundskeeper on the overseeding of the fescue… respectfully of course. What a life it was!

Services for Jerry will be held in Chandler AZ. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to The First Tee. They also ask that you take that trip you’ve been putting off, play that game of catch with your kiddo, and live life like Jerry did. As the Babe puts it in the iconic move Sandlot,“Heros get remembered, but legends never die.” Jerry’s legacy certainly lives in all who loved him, go out and share that, he’s proud that you will.