Ed Note: Marsh Creek has lost a giant of a man and a good neighbor. Our deep condolences to Eileen and to all of Jerry’s family and friends.

Born on August 20, 1938 in Cleveland, Ohio, Jerry was always reaching for
the stars and became a true American success story. He created and
manifested his own opportunities from a very young age, always earning
money for his family through working on farms in Cleveland, paper routes
and any other work he could find. At 6’4″ he became an accomplished
athlete and was able to procure a high school baseball scholarship to
Benedictine Catholic School in Cleveland. This was an instrumental segue
into receiving a wrestling scholarship to The Ohio State University, where
he became the first person in his family to attend college. Even though he received a full scholarship, he still struggled to buy food and books and
had many beautiful stories of coaches or others that helped him with
meal tickets and winter clothing. A favorite story for the family that he
liked to tell is when he worked the night shift at the local grocery store for
extra money and he would covertly take a few sips of milk from each
bottle of milk he was putting out in order to stave off his hunger.
During this time he was also a member of the National Guard and even
threw his hat in the ring for the Golden Gloves boxing competition. He
graduated with a degree in civil engineering and was hired by Armco Steel
of Cincinnati as a water pipe salesman for the Southeastern United States.
During his time at Armco Steel, he became the person not just selling and
overseeing delivery for county, state and federal infrastructure projects,
but also the engineer and advisor that would stay however long necessary
to oversee the projects to fruition. Because of this, he was away from his
family for extended periods, especially as his reputation and success grew
into a worldwide responsibility for projects in Saudi Arabia, Indonesia and
Japan. The Saudi Arabian princes that were developing the filtration
projects in the deserts at that time, for example, only wanted to purchase
pipe from a person that would patiently develop an in-person
relationship over time, and this is where Jerry’s love of tennis became a
great way to seal a deal. He would be summoned to play tennis with a
Saudi or Japanese contact first, maybe even for a few weeks, before he had
passed the test and they would proceed with a deal.
Due to his success in the international pipe division of Armco Steel, he
had an opportunity to become an owner and partner in Contech Steel,
where he continued to flourish as an engineer, salesman and astute
businessman.
His tennis skills that were so appreciated by the Saudi Arabians and
Japanese were continually developed on his off-time at home through
tournaments and he eventually became nationally ranked in the US
Tennis Association. He won countless tournaments and awards on a local
and regional level, which led him to retire to the Sunshine State and
Marsh Creek in St. Augustine, where he became president of the
homeowners’ association and oversaw infrastructure projects, wetland
management, road paving and construction of the “Jerry Scheid Thunder
Bridge.”
He also traveled extensively with his always-forgiving, fun-loving wife
Eileen, including bike tours of Europe, tennis tournaments worldwide and
many family gatherings in South Florida, the Bahamas, Arizona and Club
Med.
Jerry is survived by his wife of 60 years Eileen and children, Linda
(Clayton Rogers) of Sewannee Tennessee; Eddie (Kim Hill Scheid) of Lutz,
Florida; Margaret Jane (Ralph Moore) of West Palm Beach, Florida and
Randy (Cathy Christensen Scheid) of Jupiter, Florida, as well as
grandchildren Genevieve and Justine Rogers, Stella and Ruby Moore, Luke
Scheid and Veronica and Evelyn Scheid. He is also survived by his sister
Donna Bell of Colorado, sister-in-law Gloria Scheid and many nieces and
nephews. He was predeceased by brothers Bobby and Kenny, as well as his
sister Betty Ann, all of Ohio.
The family is deeply grateful to Community Hospice and the doctors and
nurses at Flagler Hospital for their care and kindness. In lieu of flowers,
donations can be made to Corpus Christi Church, 6175 Datil Pepper Road,
St. Augustine, Florida 32086. A memorial service will be announced at a
later date and time.