Jerry Stautberg was born on October 12, 1945.  His parents, Bill and LaVerne, would eventually have 8 children of which Jerry was the second in line.  Jerry's interest in cars started at a young age through his Dad and grandfather.  His father bought a new car every year and the three oldest boys, Bill, Jerry, and Bob, would help Dad wash the car on weekends.  Whenever Bill got a new car, he would load LaVerne and the kids into the car for a trip to the park where he would take pictures of the kids and the new car.  Jerry also had an interest in car models and he kept models of some of his favorite cars all through his life. 

At age 13, Jerry made his first deal for a car.  He had worked out an agreement with the man up the street to swap his 3-speed bike for a Crosley Station Wagon. He thought he could park the car in the backyard until he was 16. The deal never came to pass due to Dad's better judgment.

            At age 14, A friend of Jerry’s would back out his Dad's '57 Plymouth Fury "to get the cans out of the garage" and he, Jerry, and Bob would back down St. Martin's Place and then he would do a burnout up the street. 

Age 15 brought the first auto purchase for Jerry and it was a true partnership. Bill, Jerry, and Bob pooled their money and bought a '54 Bel-Air, of which Bill owned 50%, and Jerry and Bob each owned 25%.  Since Bill was the only one who had a license, he would drive Jerry and Bob around Cheviot. 

Finally at age 16, Jerry and Bob bought their first car together. It was a very memorable '58 Chevy Del Ray 6 cylinder, with 3 on the tree nicknamed the "Bloom Blah" for reasons that will become apparent. Jerry had the great idea to split the exhaust manifold of the 6 banger to create dual exhaust.  So on a Saturday afternoon armed with a hacksaw and a kit from J.C. Whitney, the "Bloom Blah" was born. This car was so loud they had to stuff steel wool up the tail pipes to pass the "Safety Lane" inspection, a quick rev on the way home disposed of the steel wool and the "Bloom Blah" was back! The color of the car simply would not do, so they painted it Gold.  In order to fool opposing racers, Jerry put V-8 emblems on the fenders. Jerry wanted to see what the "Bloom Blah" would do so he and Bob got on the "new" I-74 towards Harrison and put the pedal to the metal, the old '58 did 109 against the wind and 112 with the wind. The “Bloom Blah” would be their ride through the high school years at LaSalle. 

Jerry and Bob sold the "Bloom Blah" and bought a '51 Chevy coupe for $50.00. What a deal as the car also came with a pint of "Jack Daniels" tucked neatly under the seat. They bought some 3" PVC pipe and painted and installed it to make fake dual exhaust. 

Many cars followed, a '56 Caddy Coupe DeVille, a '57 Bonneville 2 door hardtop, a '64 Malibu, and of course the '67 Chevelle SS 396.  This is the car he and Kathy took on their honeymoon. Can you imagine driving to Florida in a '67 Chevelle SS, 4 speed, 4.10 gears without A/C?  Jerry said they could not wait to get to their hotel room to shower.

            In 1971 Jerry started at Glenway Chevrolet as a salesman and they gave him a demo to drive.  They also had Kathy's trusty old Valiant as their 2nd car.  While at Glenway, Jerry bought Kathy a beautiful '72 Cutlass Supreme.  It was orange with a white vinyl top and white guts, a gorgeous car and Jerry’s first Olds.

            At Glenway he was promoted to Asst Sales Mgr., then Truck Mgr. and then Used Car Mgr. When Jerry was promoted to Asst Sales Mgr, Kathy also received a demo, with the extra cash Jerry bought his first 'Vette, a '64 roadster. Jerry lovingly restored this car to it's original glory. He was able to stop himself from the modifications of the time, such as widening the wheel openings, cutting off the front marker lights, and adding extra tail lights. What a great decision in the end!

            Jerry's career changed in 1989 when he left Glenway Chevrolet for Sieve Pontiac as the used car mgr.  He would be with Sieve for 10 years.

            Jerry always told me he saved the best for last and in 1999, he changed jobs again to become a used car buyer for the Kenwood Dealer Group.   He really loved this job and even when he began to get very ill, he still checked the ads and the internet for possible cars for his dealers.  Over the years there were many, many cars and even more happy customers.  Jerry truly loved cars and loved to put a buyer in the “right" car and there is no telling how many matches Jerry made in his short time with us. 

Jerry lost his fight with liver disease last year in June.  Although he was not a drinker, something caused cirrhosis of his liver requiring him to need a liver transplant.  Unfortunately the transplant came too late for Jerry, and his family would like for you to have your ferritin level checked and sign up to be an organ donor.

Jerry influenced many of us to be bitten by the car bug.  He was a special man to all of us and this show is for the people who share Jerry's love of cars.

Special thanks to his brother Paul for these memories.