Jerilyn Doyle Kreps was born March 18,1945 and died on Ascension Thursday, May 21, 2020 in the loving arms of her husband, Robert P. Kreps.

Jerri grew up in New Bedford, MA, graduating from New Bedford High. She then attended the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she received a BA in English. After teaching for a year, she joined the US Air Force and was commissioned a 2nd Lt in 1968. After a tour as a Targets Officer at Strategic Air Command Headquarters, Omaha, NE she transferred to the 8th Tactical Fighter Wing at Ubon AB, Thailand. At Ubon, she was attached to the 433rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, "Satan's Angels", as an Intelligence debriefer, where she made many friends who remain loyal friends to this day.

She became one of the few non-pilots and women who became a member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association (the River Rats), whose membership was normally reserved for men who had flown in combat over North Vietnam. During her 10+ years of active duty she also served at Clark AB in the Philippines, and Ramstein and Hahn ABs in Germany.

After 10 years of active duty, she became an Air Reserve Technician and spent another 13 years on active service, achieving the rank of Lt Colonel. Along the way she earned a Masters degree in Public Policy from Webster University.

In October, 1989 she met her soon to become husband, Col Bob Kreps, when she gave him a tour of the Customs Operations Center at March AFB, CA. As he often remarked later, "It was a good tour — I just didn't know at the time it was going to last the rest of my life!"

Jerri retired from the Air Force in 1991 — at that time she was in the Individual Ready Reserve, and when she was informed that she might soon be brought back on active duty and sent to Saudi Arabia for the First Gulf War, she exclaimed to the personnel lady who recalled, "Gee! I've already done one war, but I've never been married — can I retire instead?"

The lady made it happen, and Bob and Jerri were married in February 1991. Bob was serving a tour as the Defense and Air Attache in the newly liberated country of Romania, so they flew back to Bucharest four days after their marriage for two challenging years in the diplomatic corps.

Jerri excelled as a hostess, often organizing two or three formal dinners for 20+ people a month, while also working full-time at the Agency for International Development. Not an easy task when you consider the shortage of fresh food in the country in the first year-and-a-half after the Romanian Revolution.

She tried out every recipe she served on Bob first — if it passed the taste test, she would give it to the cook to prepare for the next dinner party. That she did a superb job was attested to by the French Attache, a culinary critic, who gave her a handwritten scroll praising her culinary skills when they departed.

While in Romania they traveled widely within the country and also to Egypt and to Istanbul, Turkey. Probably the highlight of their time there was when the Minister of Defense invited them to spend several days at a senior officer rest & recreation resort in the Carpathian Mountains. Not only did he arrange special tours of the royal palaces in Sinaia, taking them to rooms and areas of the palaces not normally seen by the public. On the Saturday of that stay, he took them on a very special sleigh ride - on one of the hand-made inlaid wooden sleighs made for the former Communist dictator of Romania, Nicolae Ceausescu and his wife. They they rode up into the mountains, sleigh bells jingling and a light snow falling to a reception area near the top of the mountain where tuxedoed waiters served them hot mulled wine and hors d'oeuvres, napkins draped over their arms.

When their tour in Romania ended, Bob was assigned to serve at NATO's Southern Region headquarter in Naples, Italy. While in Italy, they traveled widely, enjoying the food, the culture and the people of Italy immensely, especially since Jerri was Italian on her mother's side.

Bob retired in 1994 and they moved to Orlando, where they soon became deeply involved in ministries at St Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Winter Park, FL. Both sang in the choir, and led marriage and baptism preparation classes. Bob was ordained a Permanent Deacon in 2002, and Jerri supported him in all his ministries, serving as a marriage coordinator at marriages where he presided, and assisting him at baptisms as well as at a host of other outreach ministries.

Jerri also worked full-time as the Administrator at BETA house (a home and Orange County High School for unwed mothers, which allowed them to keep their babies and finish their education). She left BETA after a few years, and became the Administrator and Marketing manager for Barry University's Adult and Continuing Education programs in the greater Orlando area. She retired permanently in 2004, and she and Bob continued to travel widely throughout the world. They were planning a Disney cruise for their two children, their spouses, and five grandchildren when the COVID-19 virus pandemic forced Disney to cancel all cruises.

Jerri had been diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor in December, 2019 and this was to be a family celebration for all while she was still able to enjoy travel. However, a sudden illness and emergency surgery late in March of 2020 led to her death.

Jerri was a tough, intelligent, and highly accomplished woman who brooked no nonsense but had a compassionate, gentle and loving streak a mile wide. She was the most wonderful wife a man could have. As Ben Sira says, "A loyal wife brings joy to her husband, and he will finish his years in peace. A good wife is a generous gift bestowed upon him who fears the Lord. Whether rich or poor, his heart is content, a smile ever on his face." Her husband continues smiling even through his tears.

The family of Jerilyn Doyle Kreps invites you to leave a message of condolence on the Tribute Wall created in her loving memory.

Live web stream link for the burial of JERILYN KREPS, LIEUTENANT COLONEL, US AIR FORCE at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia will be at 10:45am EST on Wednesday, November 25, 2020:

https://my.anc.media/3kkIl35

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