PIERRE, SD – On May 17th, Jerry went home to heaven. In his final moments, eyes that had been unfocused opened and gazed clearly upwards toward his awaiting Savior.
Funeral service will be 6:00PM on Wednesday, May 20, 2026 at Isburg Funeral Chapel in Pierre.
Burial will be 12:30PM (Mountain Time) on Thursday May 21, 2026 in Black Hills National Cemetery near Sturgis, SD.
Jerry Ray Boring was born October 15th to Norman and Betty (Lee) Boring. He grew up in Akron, Ohio, spending many hours playing with siblings, cousins, and neighborhood friends- sometimes playing hooky from school to do so! After completing his GED, Jerry enlisted in the Marine Corps. He served his country for four years, returned home for a short time, then enlisted in the Navy for another two years. Jerry was proud of his service, but always identified more as a Marine than a sailor. Semper Fi.
After his service, Jerry answered an earlier calling to become a pastor. This passion guided and shaped his life and countless others in his congregations and beyond. Jerry preached with a fire and love of Christ that was remarkable to witness. His faith was of utmost importance to him, and brought him so much peace in his final hours.
Jerry was well traveled and rarely did an area come up in conversation that he hadn’t been to. It was traveling to Scotland that led to him meeting Sheena Thomson, with whom he shared a 16 year marriage and 5 children. His children, and later his grandchildren, were everything to Jerry. His encouragement spilled over from his children to their friends, and honestly, anyone Jerry met. He built relationships with everyone he encountered. In his time being hospitalized, he would get to know his nursing staff in a way that showed he truly cared about them as people. When his family would call or visit, he would proudly introduce them but also would tell his family about the nurses: where they went to college, how many children they had, their hometown—it was amazing his brain could store so many details with such accuracy.
Jerry was big in to rhymes and sayings. “Be a winner, not a sinner” was called after his children at school drop off- much to the chagrin of his preteen/teenage children! Once he was more homebound, these sayings were shared with everyone who went out the door. From his doctor to his grandchildren, nurses to caregivers, all who left got a “You winner! You champion!” upon departure. It got to where his grandchildren would make it a game and try to say it first, at which point Jerry would let out his famous belly laugh and say “Hey! That’s my line!”
It cannot be overstated how much family meant to Jerry. His happiest moments were at the annual family get together where all 17 would eat too much, share stories and limitless Three Stooges quotes, and play Catch Phrase until their bellies hurt from laughter. He fought for as long and as hard as he did with his congestive heart failure because of his love for his family. His legacy lives on through them.
Preceding Jerry in death are his parents; brother, Harry and an angel baby who he finally gets to hold and rock. Left to navigate life without him are his sister, Bonnie; sister-in-law, Vanessa; brother, Bob (Rachel); many cousins, nieces, and nephews; former wife, Sheena; children, Mike (Sarah), Steve (Melissa), Jaclyn (Levi), Danny and Kevin (Erin) and grandchildren Liam, Ryan, Brody, Illyria and Jemma.
