Obituary of Gerald F. Hale

Gerald “Jerry” Francis Hale, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and friend, passed away on Wednesday, July 5th at the age of 68 after a courageous battle with brain cancer.

Jerry was born in Hartford and raised in Glastonbury, CT, where his family was one of the founding fathers of Hartford County.  He graduated from East Catholic High School in 1966 and went on to earn a degree in Business Administration from Kings College in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1970.

He returned to Connecticut and began a 46 year career in the insurance industry as a claims adjuster.  After several years working as an adjuster and in managerial roles at CNA and Gordon Boyd & Co., he co-founded Eastland Claim Service with David Beaver, and ran this business successfully for 25 years before selling the business to Vericlaim, Inc.  Jerry stayed on as a regional manager at Vericlaim until taking medical leave in 2016 to begin his cancer treatment.

Jerry was a member of numerous industry and charitable organizations during his career.  He was the former president of the National Association of Independent Insurance Adjusters (NAIIA), Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International, International Institute of Loss Adjusters (IILA), and New England Claims Executives Association. He was also made an Honorary Member of the European organization, The Chartered Institute of Loss Adjusters, as well as The Australian Institute of Loss Adjusters, because of his efforts to unite the interest of insurance adjusting across the 3 continents.

In his spare time, Jerry enjoyed attending NFL football games on Sunday afternoons with his children, friends, and work colleagues.  He was a season ticket holder to the New York Giants and the New England Patriots for more than 30 years.  Jerry enjoyed playing golf and was a previous member of The Lyman Orchards Golf Club.  He and his wife, Joanne, also loved to travel, and took numerous trips to distant locations, including Oman, Dubai, Australia, Tasmania, Austria, Switzerland, France, Great Britain, Wales, Scotland, and Germany. He also took 16 annual trips to Aruba where he met up with insurance friends from across the country.

However, Jerry’s favorite pastime was spending time with his family, especially his six grandchildren.  He enjoyed his time with them more than any other activity, and spent much of his spare time attending their concerts, or cheering them from the sidelines at their sporting events.  He tried his best to attend as many of their activities as possible, and was very involved in their lives.

Jerry is survived by his beloved wife, Joanne, of 46 years.  He was a loving father to his three children, Michael (with wife, Jill), Jonathan (with wife, Sara), and Caroline Johnson (with husband, Jason).  He was a caring grandfather to his six grandchildren, Sydney, Gavin, Brayden, Caitlyn, Mason, and Ethan.  He is also survived by his older brother, Thomas Hale.

Arrangements - A Mass of Christian burial will be held 11:00 am on Monday, July 10, 2017 at St. Thomas Becket Church, 435 Brooksvale Rd., Cheshire.  Friends are asked to meet directly at church.  Burial will follow in St. Bridget Cemetery.  Calling hours will be held on Sunday from 5:00 - 8:00 p.m. at the Alderson-Ford Funeral Home of Cheshire, 615 South Main St.  Memorial contributions may be made to the Honorable Order of the Blue Goose International, 25 Minister Brook Drive, Simsbury, CT  06070 or to the Sisters Project, P.O. Box 1643 Wallingford, CT 06492.