Jerry Fitzgerald, – you may have know her as Jerry Morris, or Jerry Sherman. Jerry lost her first husband while in missionary training with NTM at Fouts Springs, CA. Ray and Jerry had been married just returned to Fouts Springs a week before when the men were called out to fight a forest fire. Ray and Jerry had been married just 40 days. 19-year-old Ray, along with 14 other NTM missionaries and missionary trainees, lost their lives in that fire. We do not know why, but we know God allowed it and He makes no mistakes.
Jerry continued on and arrived in Papua New Guinea (then the Territory of New Guinea) on July 9th, exactly one year after losing her first husband.
Jerry worked among the much feared KuKuKuKu people along with Corinne Mansker (now Palmer) and Sudie Kirk (now Cole) and others. 8 years after arriving in PNG, Jerry married Ted Fitzgerald, who was also working in the same area. They have 3 children, two born in Bulolo, PNG and one in Australia.
When Jerry left the Hamti area, 27 years after she joined that work, there were approximately Hamtai churches, 4000 Hamtai Christians. Today it is somewhere around 70 churches and 7000 believers. Tom and Corinne Palmer are just now retiring after working among the Hamtais for almost 60 years. Their last job was to revise the New Testament that Ted and Jerry had translated into the Hamtai language back in the 60’s. It badly needed revising because the language has changed a lot during those years and the believers can express scriptural truths so much better now that any of us could back in the 60’s.
Ted and Jerry moved to the off-shore islands of Papua New Guinea to head up the new work there. In their 22 years in the Islands Region they saw 22 teams move into 22 different language groups. The work there continues to move forward at an amazing rate.
As Jerry looks back on her life she says, if I had my life to live over I would do some things differently, but I would certainly do the same basic thing, if God permitted. It has been a joy to serve Him reaching tribal people for Christ.
Ted and Jerry retired at NTM Homes in Sanford Florida in 2003. Ted went to join the Lord he loved in 2009 after a long struggle with Lewy Body Dementia and three years in nursing homes. Jerry continues serving the Lord in the jobs He gives her from day to day. Encouraging missionaries and translators, teaching Sunday School to English speaking Hispanic children, teaching English to Hispanic women, and helping others at NTM Homes in anyway she can, especially women who are going through experiences similar to hers with failing husbands and those who need transportation to Doctor’s appointments etc.