Gerald Nicholas Renner D.D.S.

Dr. Gerald N. Renner, D.D.S., loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend, passed away peacefully at the age of 91 at his home on Sunday, February 17, 2019.

Jerry was born September 27, 1927, in Alexandria, MN, to Nicholas and Kathryn (Augustine) Renner. He was the third of four children.

In 1945, he graduated third in his class from Alexandria H.S. and began three years of honorable service in the US Navy Hospital Corps. He served aboard the USS Benevolence as a medical nurse, attaining the rank of Hospital Corpsman Second USN. His ship was assigned to the Bikini Atoll for Operation Crossroads, the Navy's first atom bomb tests. Jerry described the testing of the first atom bomb, code named ‘Gilda', in a letter written home and later published in the local Alexandria paper.

We were told the bomb was to be dropped at 09:00 (July 1^st 1946). The sun was shining, very few clouds, and just a light breeze was blowing. At the time we were about 25 to 30 miles from Bikini. At two minutes to nine were given the order to look down at the deck, with our backs toward Bikini, and to cover our eyes with bended arm. Those were, undoubtedly, the longest two minutes I'll ever spend in my life. At nine, with my arms across closed eyes, I had the strangest sensation of a bright flash. Nearly everyone else saw it too, so it must have been the bomb. At the order to carry on we turned around to look. The first thing I saw were flames shooting across the horizon. Then a cloud of smoke started to billow up. It stayed close to the surface at first- then started rising. Finally nearly three minutes after the bomb went off, we heard it. It was like a loud clap of thunder rolling across the ocean. The ship didn't shake much, but we did feel a slight lurch. Then came the thing I'll never forget- that terrible or beautiful column of smoke. It was monstrous and it kept rising and rising. It was sort of mushroom- shaped, with streaks of red running into the white. It was so terribly big I'll never be able to describe it to you. It must have risen 50,000 to 60,000 feet. The thing that was strange about that cloud was that after it reached the peak of its altitude, it just stayed there in that position without moving, like some huge peak of rock. After about 20 minutes it leaned slightly toward us. It cast a red reflection on the sea all the way from Bikini to us. After about 30 minutes it started to break up, and disappeared into the sky.

Attending the University of Minnesota after his military service, Jerry excelled in many areas. He was an officer of the Psi Omega Dental Fraternity, on the School of Dentistry Dean's list, President of his Dental School Senior class, All University Congress Representative for the Dental School, and a University of Minnesota Counselor. Obtaining a Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) in 1955, he passed the Minnesota State Dental Boards the same year.

Leaving Minnesota, Jerry traveled west, falling in love with Colorado and moving here in 1956. He passed the Colorado State Dental Boards the same year and practiced dentistry in Colorado for 27 years. During his dental career, he was affiliated with multiple hospitals, was a member of the Metropolitan Denver Dental Society, the Colorado Dental Association, the Denver Dental Forum, and was co-founder of the Rocky Mountain Dental Study Club with Dr. Thomas Orban.

On December 28, 1960, Jerry wed Linda Byrne at Notre Dame Catholic Church. Their wedding reception was the first formal function held at the newly constructed Pinehurst Country Club, of which Jerry was an original member.

They raised two children, Lesley and Ryan, at their Lakewood, lakefront home, lovingly named Ashling. Jerry and Linda traveled extensively throughout the world with their children and friends.

Jerry had many passions in life including snow skiing, water skiing, scuba diving, golfing, and piloting his airplanes. As an expert snow skier, Jerry's passion for the mountains led him to be one of the original investors in Vail. This provided Jerry and Linda with lifetime ski passes, which Jerry used until he was 86 years old. Jerry also enjoyed skiing outside of Colorado. On a helicopter skiing trip in the Cariboo region of the Canadian Rockies in 1977, Jerry would recount the pristine powder and his party unintentionally triggering an avalanche during a guided chute traverse.

Growing up in Minnesota with its many lakes, Jerry developed a love of the water. He was an excellent water skier in several areas, including slalom, jumping, and performing tricks, such as rotating while standing on a bar stool atop a disk while being pulled behind a speed boat.

Jerry was an early adopter of SCUBA diving, becoming certified in the 1950s and again with his children in 1984. His pursuit would lead him to weather hurricane Gilbert while on a Caribbean diving trip with his brother Walter, and friends, in 1988.

Jerry would be the first to admit he was not a good golfer but enjoyed the camaraderie and competition the sport provided. His friends will remember him using binoculars in an unsuccessful search for a golf club lost in a tree, found by another golfer the next day, after a wind storm.

Jerry held an airplane pilot's license, owning several planes over his lifetime. One of his favorite stories was about a trip he made to Minnesota, during which he flew through an ominous thunder storm where the ground was hidden from view. Upon landing to fuel his plane, he learned he was in Montana!

Jerry was an active real estate investor and developer, leading him to obtain a Colorado Real Estate Brokers license later in life. He was involved in several properties in Vail and the surrounding area, and multiple residential structures within the Denver metro area and Laguna Beach, CA. As a developer, he converted the Bradford Mansion on the corner of Wadsworth and Morrison Road in Lakewood, CO into The Mansion Office Complex.

Jerry enjoyed sharing what he had with others and spending time with friends and family. His generous and friendly nature led him to teach countless family, friends, and acquaintances how to snow and water ski.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Linda, children Lesley and Ryan, grandchildren Rowan and Sloane, and sister, Joan Renner Stringer.

Please consider making donations in Jerry's memory to the Vail Veterans Program. https://www.vailveteransprogram.org. Mailing address: P.O. Box 6473, Vail, Colorado 81658.