Jerome "Jerry" David Girsch, 79, of Hinsdale and Bonita Springs, Fla., died Jan. 19, 2025.
Jerry was a proud South Sider, growing up in the Beverly neighborhood and attending St. Barnabas. He went on to graduate high school from Archbishop Quigley Preparatory Seminary and spent a very short time at Mundelein Seminary before calling his Dad to be picked up - something his wife and children remain grateful for to this day.
After graduating from Loyola University, he was hired as an auditor for Arthur Anderson, where he met the love of his life, a receptionist from the North Side named Linda Mizwicki. One of Jerry's main accounts was Waste Management and his hard work and affable personality led Waste to hire him in 1976. He began an impressive career as a "garbage man" with colleagues who became family.
Jerry moved his family to Hinsdale at that time to be closer to his Oak Brook office and he and Linda embraced the village as well as the amazing families at St. Isaac Jogues school and parish. He retired from Waste at age 50, but quickly transitioned to another successful career with LKQ, where he was able to schedule his meetings around his tee times. Jerry was a devout Catholic who typically attended Mass multiple times a week and, with Linda, generously supported the Catholic mission through St. Isaac's, Benet Academy, DePaul, Notre Dame and LINK Unlimited, among others. He gave back to the community through his service to the Knights of Columbus and his work on the board of directors at DePaul and LINK.
Jerry was an avid sports fan who rooted passionately for his White Sox and Notre Dame football. Jerry loved nothing more than a fall Notre Dame Saturday. He also had the foresight to secure Bulls season tickets shortly after the team drafted Michael Jordan, enabling family and friends to enjoy hundreds of memorable games at the Chicago Stadium and United Center. Jerry and Linda enjoyed traveling the globe but were most fulfilled when visiting their grandchildren and watching them compete in whatever sport or activity was on the schedule. Since 2001, the two split their time between Hinsdale and Bonita Bay, where they met a whole new group of incredible friends in retirement. Jerry loved golf - regularly playing with friends at Ruth Lake, Butterfield and Bonita Bay; but also taking his mid-20s handicap to legendary courses in Augusta, Scotland and Ireland. Jerry lived mainly by a couple of simple mantras: "Life is Good!" and "It's Great to be a Girsch!"
He is survived by his wife of 52 years, Linda; his five children, Bradley (Elizabeth Krueger), Rebecca, Michael (Kelly Meyer), Gregory (Katlyn Humphrey) and Leslie; his 10 grandchildren, William, Tate, Addison, Eleanor, Claire, Celia, Thomas, Henry Jerome, John and Lucille; his siblings, Charles 'Bill,' Robert and Marina; and many nieces, nephews and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Charles "Bud" and Marina Girsch, nee Hafner; and his brother John.
Visitation is from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, at Sullivan Funeral Home, 60 S. Grant St., Hinsdale.
A funeral Mass will be said at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 1, at St. Isaac Jogues, 421 S. Clay St., Hinsdale. The Mass will be live streamed at http://www.sij.net.
Burial will be private. A luncheon for family and friends will follow at Butterfield Country Club, 2800 Midwest Road, Oak Brook.
A remembrance service will be held in Bonita Springs this spring.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to online to LINK Unlimited Scholars at http://www.linkunlimited.org or Congregation of the Mission - The Vincentian Western Province at http://www.vincentian.org.
