Jerry Alan Scripps

Jerry Alan Scripps MBA, PhD, RN — husband, father, lifelong learner, fitness champion, brother, and friend—passed away on July 26, 2026, at age 69, from injuries sustained in a bicycling accident.

For a man who built his career on computers, Jerry proudly self-identified as a "techno-grouch" who liked life quiet and simple. Then he met Sally, and despite having gone on record that children were a good idea "in theory," they had four of them — Joe, Cameron, Nicholas, and Alex. Since quiet was already off the table, he raised them on the classics, meaning Monty Python and the 1812 Overture, at volume. In 2015 he took the entire loud enterprise to Austria for a semester on a Fulbright Fellowship and came back able to make authentic schnitzel, which he deployed for years afterward as a reliable way to gather the kids for family dinners.

Jerry loved to learn. After graduating from Rockford High School, he attended Taylor University earning a Bachelors of Science in Math. Then on to Boston College for an M.B.A., he continued to earn degrees including a Master’s and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Michigan State University, and later, a Bachelor’s in Nursing from Grand Valley State University.

Jerry started working as a programmer, became a software business owner, and for spent 30 years as a college professor in GVSU’s College of Computing. After retiring from teaching, and surprising everyone, he pursued a degree in nursing. He sheepishly admitted that his nursing student cohort referred to him as 'Jer-Bear' in spite of or maybe because he was such an outlier in the group. Jerry had just passed the nursing certification exam and had started as a floor nurse at Blodgett Hospital.

Jerry was always looking for the next challenge. Physically, he started every morning with exercise. For many years it was running and biking and swimming, competing in bike races and triathlons, including an Ironman-distance triathlon. He met some of his best friends in Masters Swimming. He competed in obstacle races like the Tough Mudder. Exercise was part of who he was. And he championed anyone and everyone regardless of their ability.

He had a mind that solved problems others found impossible, made him formidable in an Escape Room, and held an inexhaustible supply of odd, sometimes interesting facts.  Music wasn't just background noise for Jerry. His taste ran from sweeping classical symphonies to anthems by The Tragically Hip and classic rock from The Who. He could "swear off sugar" with a discipline his wife found admirable and slightly infuriating. And for a man who liked simple food, he took it surprisingly seriously in France, where he made it his personal mission to sample every stinky cheese on the menu.

Jerry is survived by his wife, Sally; their children Joe (Jessica Stuart) Scripps, Cameron (Drew Young) Scripps and their daughter Adeline, Nicholas Scripps, and Alex Scripps; his brother Patrick (Angela) Scripps; his sisters Deborah (Dave) Keenan and Wendy (Alan) Yamaoka; along with many nieces and nephews and friends too many to include for fear of leaving someone out.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Gordon and Shirley Scripps; his stepmother, Ruth Ann Scripps; his sister-in-law, Jane Scripps and his nephew, Ben Scripps.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Community Food Club of Grand Rapids or one of the programs Jerry supported at GVSU.

A Celebration of Life will be held at GVSU Alumni House, 11150 North Campus Drive Allendale, MI  49401 on Saturday, August 15, 2026 at 4pm.  

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