Jerry I. Friedman

Jerry I. Friedman was born on May 30, 1931 in the Bronx, New York. He married Gaetana Seguino, whom he adored until the day he passed away, on August 18, 1956, at Brooklyn Society for Ethical Culture. They were married for 64 years until her death in 2020. They had three daughters: Nancy Perin, Grandview Heights, OH; Alison Friedman, Paris, France; and Kari Collier, Cleveland, OH.

He attended the Bronx High School of Science; NY Community College: Assoc., Mechanical Technology; Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn: BS, Metallurgical Engineering; and Case Western Reserve University: MS, Organization Development.

Jerry served in the military attending Topographic Surveyor School, US Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Belvoir, VA and worked as a topographic surveyor, US Army Corps of Engineers, 1952-1953 in Bavaria, Germany.

He worked as a metallurgist for Nuclear Reactors Knolls Atomic Power Lab., Schenectady and the Institutt for Atomenergi, Lillestrom, Norway. He also did work on the manufacturing of aircraft engines for Nuclear Metals, Inc, Concord, Mass.; TRW, Cleveland, Ohio and TRW Precision Castparts Corp., Cleveland, OH. Later in life he and Gaetana taught conversational English in Tokyo, Japan and English as a second language in Cleveland, OH.

Throughout his life Jerry belonged to a number of organizations including the American Society for Metals, the American Powder Metallurgy Assn., the Institute for the Great Outdoors, Cleveland, OH, and served as President of the Mens Garden Club of Asheville, North Carolina. He also served as a tutor for Project for Adult Literacy in Boston, Chairman for the Flatwater Canoe Committee, Appalachian Mtn. Club, Boston, Chairman, Concord Redevelopment Authority, Concord, Massachusetts, the Fair Housing Committee Meals on Wheels, Cleveland, ESL tutor, Cleveland and Asheville Treasurer, Haw Creek Assn. President, Haw Creek Villas Homeowners Assn., and Guardian ad Litem in Asheville North Carolina.

He was invited to conferences in Rome, Italy, Minsk, Russia, and Innsbruck, Austria to deliver papers in his area of specialization. Jerry’s outside interests included hiking, gardening, cycling, bee-keeping, photography and small boat building. At one time, Jerry built a “Mirror” dinghy, a gaffe rigged sailboat from a kit but found the boat too small for his family. He remedied this by purchasing a 19 foot canoe to take the family on camping trips.

Jerry and Gaetana spent their lives living in Schenectady, New York, Lillestrom, Norway, Concord Massachusetts, Cleveland Heights, Ohio and Haw Creek East Asheville, North Carolina.