“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only son, so whosoever believed in Jesus shall not perish but have everlasting life.”   John 3:16
 COVENTRY – On March 30, 2008, God welcomed Gerald Wynn Bickford, age 84, into His arms after a courageous battle with cancer. With appreciation for the support of the Chenango County Hospice, Jerry was able to be at home for the last few months surrounded by his family. 
Jerry was born to William and Nellie (Kark) Bickford on May 25, 1923 in Wheelertown.  At age 10, he joined his big brother, Jim, on a dairy farm in Coventry.  He attended grade school in a one-room school house in Coventry and graduated from Afton Central School in 1941. On Nov. 23, 1949, he married Elsie Day from Greene, at her home on Wheelerbrook Road. In November, 2007, they celebrated their 58th wedding anniversary. Jerry started his own lime-spreading and trucking business in the late 1940s contracting with GLF, which later became Agway. He was joined by his sons in the 1970s to form Bickford and Sons, Inc., an enterprise which lasted until 1987. 
After a serious fire in the 1950s in Coventry, Jerry, along with other men in the community, started the Coventry Volunteer Fire Department in 1951 and has been both an active and an honorary member for all these years. He was also instrumental in initiating the first Coventry Boy Scout Troop. He was an active member of the Coventry United Methodist Church, starting as a young boy and carrying on in later years by starting a Methodist Youth Fellowship for teenagers and young people.  
Upon retirement, Jerry took over as caretaker for the Coventry Union Cemetery and was always complimented on his meticulous care.  Jerry looked forward to the many fishing trips he took with his employees, family and friends, to summers with family at Desert Lake, Ontario, Canada, to his winters being spent in Silver Springs, Florida with his wife, Elsie, to day trips to his property in the Adirondacks where he grew up and to water-skiing and good times with family and friends at his camp on Guilford Lake.  One of his best memories was the fishing trip with his sons and grandsons at the Thousands Islands just prior to his grandsons being shipped to Iraq.
“Uncle Jerry,” as many members of the community knew him, will always be remembered for his generous heart and his sweet smile, which continued to be his trademarks even through his battle with cancer. Jerry was sharp and alert to the end, making quips and keeping his family laughing even to his last day.
 Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, two brothers, William Bethel Bickford and James Nelson Bickford, and a sister, Pearl Louise Koster.  
 Besides his wife, Elsie, he also leaves behind two sons and a daughter, Steve and Vera Bickford, Camp Hill, Pa., Tim and Sharon Bickford, Oxford and Terri Lynn Bickford, Coventry, and friend Bill Searfoss, Oxford; grandchildren Adam and Wendy Bickford, New Providence, Pa.; David and Annette Bickford, Dover, Pa.; Janelle Lynn Bickford, Portland, Oregon; Terri and Andy Beebe, Greene; John and Amy Bickford, Oxford; Mindi and John Bacon, Fort Drum;  great-grandchildren Kaitlin and Jordan Beebe, Sharon Faith Bickford, and twins Aubrey and Braedon Bickford.  Also surviving are his sister, Alleine Benedict, Harpursville, and brother Gordon and Dorothy Bickford, Sanitaria Springs, along with many nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws.
 A memorial service to honor Jerry’s life will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 12, at the Coventry United Methodist Church on Route 206 in Coventry with Pastor Veleda Banta and True Life Christian Church Pastor Karl Silfee. 
Those who wish may send memorial donations to either the Coventry United Methodist Church, c/o Priscilla DeNyse, 130 Owlville Road, Bainbridge, NY 13733 or to the Coventry Volunteer Fire Company & Emergency Services,  c/o Daren Schultz, 109 North Road, Greene, NY 13778.
The family wishes to thank Chenango County Hospice for their care and compassion these last few months and the many friends and relatives who have expressed their condolences.