Jerome "Jerry" Albert Yoham's Obituary
Jerome Albert Yoham Sr. was born on February 26, 1930 in Tell City, Indiana. He was one of 9 children and moved to Miami with his family when he was seven.
Jerry, as he was affectionally called, had an inquisitive nature and a strong work ethic from an early age. Starting at age 5, he was selling newspapers on the street corners of Evansville, Indiana. He worked many jobs like shining shoes, selling peanuts and then out of town newspapers on Miami Beach, Florida. At the age of sixteen, he joined the Merchant Marines and his merchant trips took him to Palestine, Egypt and India. At 20 years of age, Jerry had worked on dams in half a dozen western states and loved building structures. He returned to Miami, was married in 1952 and was blessed with a large family. He was a parishioner of St.Brendan’s Catholic Church.
He started several businesses but eventually returned to his passion of construction. He built many buildings around Miami – houses, offices, store fronts, warehouses and two terminals on the Miami River. His biggest enjoyment was traveling by automobile to see what was over the next hill. He took the family on trips each summer to visit many state and national parks including Denali National Park in Alaska. Jerry was relegated to a wheelchair in 2010, but he did not let this restrict his enjoyment of construction and travel.
Jerry passed on Monday, February 5, just shy of his eighty-eighth birthday. His family was with him these past few weeks and he is survived by his wife, Anna Mary, of 66 years, all 11 children, and 12 grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, donations to a charity in Jerry’s memory are appreciated.
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