Obituary

Jerry Edward Westendorf, 62, died in hospice care in the early morning of January 26, 2025 after an extended battle with cancer. 

Jerry was born on July 28, 1962 in Dayton, Ohio to Martin (“Geno”) Westendorf and Leatrice (“Sadie”) Westendorf. Both of his parents preceded him in death.  

He is survived by four children: Jeremy Westendorf of Centerville, Kyle Westendorf of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dana Westendorf of Columbus and Ethan Westendorf of Washington Court House.    Jerry is also survived by siblings Rick (Brenda) Westendorf of Dayton, David Westendorf of San Francisco, California, Kenny (Karen) Westendorf of Kettering, and Carol Napier of New Lebanon.  A brother, Dennis Westendorf, preceded him in death.  He was also survived by several nieces and nephews. 

Jerry was a 1980 graduate of Wilbur Wright High School and a successful high school athlete in both tennis and golf.   He was on a city champion golf team and in 2022 was inducted into the Wilbur Wright High School Athletic Hall of Fame. He also won a high school dance contest and proudly told everyone about this for the rest of his 62 years.  He was a Dayton resident his entire life and enjoyed rooting for the Dayton Flyers. He worked as a salesman for Midwest Cutlery for 41 years,  providing quality knives and sharpening services to restaurants in the tri-state area.  As a result, he could tell you the backstory on most restaurants from Indianapolis to Cincinnati.  He was so well-loved on his route that he was recognized while on vacation in each of Florida and Tennessee by customers calling out “knife man” at him.  In his free time, Jerry enjoyed playing golf and basketball, eating ice cream, cheering on the Cincinnati Bengals and spending time with friends and family. 

Jerry loved sharing laughter with others and had a heart of gold. 

Per his request, Jerry’s remains were cremated.  In lieu of a traditional funeral service, and also at Jerry’s request, a party will be held from 2 to 5 pm on Sunday, February 2 at the FOP Hall, 4275 Powell Road, Dayton OH 45424.  Those who knew Jerry are welcomed to attend, share stories about their favorite memories with Jerry, and raise a toast to his life. 

Memorial donations may be directed in Jerry’s memory to Hospice of Dayton. 

https://www.ohioshospice.org/dayton/ 

Cremation was entrusted to Glickler Funeral Home and Cremation Services of Dayton.