Jerry Don Wooldridge Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Jerry Don Wooldridge, 69, of Orlando passed away Monday, June 6, 2022, after a brief but fierce battle with cancer. He was a devoted family man who lived life with passion and love. He leaves behind his beloved wife of 48 years, Jonna Wooldridge, and their two daughters, Erin Black and Karla Membreno-Wooldridge. His parents were the late George and Norma Wooldridge of Sherwood, Arkansas. Jerry was also preceded in death by his brother, Terry Wooldridge, and survived by Terry’s wife, Elaine, their daughter, Lacy (Dustin) Blackburn and children, Ella, Harper and Noah of Jacksonville, Florida. He is survived by his sister, Sheila (Richard) Parker, and their daughter, Katie Parker, of Sherwood, Arkansas. His love extended to many more nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, uncles, friends, neighbors, and colleagues than can be named here. He cared deeply for others. He affectionately referred to Ella Hickey of the District to RCID as his “work wife” after their many years of collaboration. Jerry’s youth and early adulthood were spent in Newport, Arkansas. His childhood friends gave him the nickname of “Pud” (short for pudding) and that stuck with him for life. He was always athletic, excelling at track and football. At age 16, he met Jonna Belva and it was love at first sight. They married five years later. He graduated from the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design at the University of Arkansas in 1976. His drive for perfection and innate desire to make the world better was the spark and fuel for a long and successful career. After graduating, Jerry began his career in the sector of Architecture in 1977 with Raymond Branton and Associates. While working both as a Sole Proprietor and for several other firms through 1986, Jerry discovered his passion for building codes. Concluding his career in Arkansas, Jerry left Bozeman, Wooldridge and Associates for a job as a plans examiner in Summit County Colorado. While working through the ranks within Summit County Department of Codes Administration and Building Safety, Jerry expanded his knowledge and understanding of building codes exponentially. He joined the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association) and ICBO (International Conference of Building Officials), holding several positions within the two organizations, up until the time of his passing. He was even featured in an NFPA Journal article called “Hooked on Codes” in 2000. Jerry ended his career in Summit County Colorado as Department Manager and Chief Building Official in 1998. Jerry began his career at the Reedy Creek Improvement District in 1998 as the Manager and Building Official of the Building & Safety Department. His first major project was the then new Animal Kingdom Lodge. Since that time, he has been an integral part of the development of every large scale project within the District from new hotels, to commercial facilities to multiple new attractions and lands that make up the Walt Disney World. He has always been passionate about safety and codes and that passion has remained with him throughout. His number one goal was to help build a magical experience for all in the safest way possible. In his personal life, he and Jonna began fostering special needs children in 1978 and were named “Arkansas Foster Parents of the Year”. They continued that passion after moving to Colorado and at final count, fostered a total of 26 children. Some stayed for a few days, and some for years. Regardless of their length of stay, he was a Dad to each and every one of them. Jerry loved to snow ski, mountain climb, swim, hike, kayak and run. He completed his first marathon at the age of 50 and never stopped. He made Disney marathons a family event and his enthusiasm inspired many others to join in. Details of memorial services will be shared once dates have been finalized. The family would like to sincerely thank each of you for your prayers and support during this very shocking and difficult time. Jerry believed he would recover and had planned to tell everyone of his ordeal after his recovery. Your best wishes are more than enough for his family, but if you would like to donate to some of Jerry’s causes, he was most passionate about: Mercy Ships (https://www.mercyships.org); Junior Achievement USA (https://jausa.ja.org); St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (https://stjude.org); American Cancer Society (https://www.cancer.org); and National Kidney Foundation (https://www.kidney.org).

Jerry Don Wooldridge

October 1, 1952 - June 6, 2022