Jerrold Eugene Crockford – 85 yrs. – was born to Joseph James Crockford and Mildred Marie (Plambeck) Crockford on October 3, 1939, in Meade Co., SD. He was second oldest in a family of six and resided on the family farm south of Vale, SD. He graduated High School at Vale and in the fall of 1957 joined the US Navy and spent his service time in Bermuda. He was discharged from the Navy in 1960, then worked for the phone co. for a few months until he was hired by Homestake Mining Co., Lumber and Timber Dept. for fifteen years. He held several positions ending with Log Cutter Foreman.
In January of 1962 Jerry met Julie C. Seidel. They were married June 16, 1962, and began a journey of more than 62 years together. They lived in Spearfish, SD and had their first child, Jane Marie (Crockford) Jordan in May 1963, followed by Jodi Lynn Crockford in March 1966. Spring of 1966 they moved out of Spearfish to Maitland Canyon where they started from the ground up to build a home. They moved a mobile home in for their house and Jerry kept busy constructing a garage, barn and fences along with planting a garden and yard.
In the Fall of 1976 Jerry accepted a position of Realty Specialist with the Bureau of Land Management located in Buffalo, WY. Daily he traveled the NE corner of Wyoming to help oil and gas companies obtain permits to drill wells and install pipelines on US Govt. property. In the beginning of 1980, he spent five months at the US Govt Lands School in Phoenix, AZ. Fall of 1983 saw the family moving to Dickinson, ND until June 1988 when they transferred to Farmington, NM where they lived for 33 years. While in Farmington, NM Jerry and Julie attended the Emmanual Baptist Church with Jerry serving as a deacon for 33 yrs. They also helped conduct services at the local DWI Center each Sunday.
In addition to permits for oil and gas and pipelines, he also worked to permit wind and solar farms. He taught at the Phoenix Land School for 22 years. He retired from BLM in 2009. He then started a personal business helping companies obtain federal permits for installations. He retired in 2021.
Jerry loved his family including his wife, two daughters, two grandchildren and 2 great granddaughters. The family moved back to SD to be near his sisters and Julie’s family in Nov. 2021. He always considered SD to be ‘home’ and always planned to come back for that reason.
Jerry is survived by the immediate family, two sisters and their families, and a brother and family plus several in laws. Also included are numerous nieces and nephews.
Funerals services will be held Saturday, March 8, 2025, 10:00 a.m. at Kinkade Funeral Chapel, Sturgis, SD. Interment will follow at the Vale Cemetery. Condolences may be left for the family at www.kinkadefunerals.com.
