Gerald Saxton - 1941 - 2026

When I started my solo drive to FL then NY from CA I mentioned that Julie flew back to NY to help her dad the day before I left. She was able to be with him in his final week as he passed at the end of April.

Four generations of Saxton-Brooks

I knew Jerry from shortly before Julie and I married, so over 35 years. He is inextricably linked to Keuka Lake in my mind, and in our sons’. In 1992 after getting stationed at Wright-Patterson AFB Julie and I took a late spring drive to the lake for my first visit. Jerry took me out on the family Flying Dutchman in cold water and cold air for my first sail. I can’t say I enjoyed it much but it was the start of a love for sailing.

Around the campfire with Jerry, Julie, and Matthew

Once Matthew started at West Point in 2015 we began spending our summers at the lake. So my time with Jerry pivoted from maybe-a-week-a-year to living with him at the cottages for at least two months every summer.

Projects with Jerry

I fell in love with the pace and the feeling of mostly living outdoors. And I became a caretaker and owner, engaging in my own maintenance and improvement projects under the tutelage of Jerry. There was never a situation that came up where he couldn’t add his experience and wisdom. Yet he was bold with new ideas and welcoming of change. We added a heat pump A/C to his primary living cottage. I built elevated garden beds. We added an outdoor shower. And he worked on projects all through his last summer at Keuka.

Our final golf outing with Jerry

One non-obvious thing about Jerry and me: I spent far more time with him in my adult years than I did with my own dad. At the end of every summer when we would all part ways again, he was effusive in his gratitude to Julie and me, generous with his hugs, and clearly at peace with where his life had taken him. Last summer I was surprised when he told me he wanted to get out on the golf course again - not to play, but to just drive the cart and be with family. We did this twice - once with Julie and Judy, and another with his sons Dave and Mike and with our sons Jacob and Matthew. It was a special treat to spend a day like this and enjoy lunch after in the clubhouse.

Lastly, we are all grateful that he had two different summer visits by his great-grandson Rory. While it is sad to think that Rory won’t remember him, Jerry was able to meet and enjoy him all while appreciating what a great father his grandson Jacob is and will be.