The campus community mourns the passing of Jerud “Jerry” Mead, who died on Monday, March 1. Jerry retired in 2009 as professor emeritus of computer science after 26 years of service to Bucknell.
His colleagues in the Department of Computer Science shared the following about him: Professor Mead taught a broad array of courses. His engagement with introductory and advanced programming courses informed the development of perspectives on how one might more systematically create programs that meet specifications. Together with Anil M. Shende, Professor Mead co-authored two books that shared his programming views and techniques: Persuasive Programming (2001) and A Guide to Persuasive Programming Using Java (2002). In the area of programming languages design, he was a leading force in the development of a core curriculum course on the subject and also of an advanced elective on object-oriented programming languages. Under his direction, a National Science Foundation Grant was awarded to Professor Mead and the University in 1986. Jerry frequented the Refectory assiduously and participated in jovial, animated and intellectually deep conversations with a group of his close friends. We are diminished by his passing and extend our deepest sympathies to his family.
Included below is the complete text of the obituary, as provided by the family.
You are encouraged to visit our In Memoriam Site at bucknell.edu/InMemoriam and share personal notes of sympathy and remembrance with others.
On behalf of our entire University community, I extend our deepest sympathies to Jerry’s family, as well as to all who knew him at Bucknell.
John C. Bravman
President
__________________________________________________________________________
Jerud J. “Jerry” Mead, 76, of Lewisburg, died Monday, March 1, 2021, at Geisinger Medical Center following a lengthy battle with cancer, with his wife, Jane, of 53 years at his side.
Jerry was born on Nov. 15, 1944, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Warren and Mary Alice (Riley) Mead. He attended school in Waterloo, Iowa, and graduated from Waterloo West High School. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin Madison with a degree in Physics he attended graduate school at the University of Northern Iowa, completing a Masters in Mathematical Logic in 1968. He married Jane Logerquist that year. Jerry served in the U.S. Army from late 1968 to mid-1970.
After finishing his military service, Jerry completed a Ph.D. in Mathematical Logic at the University of Iowa in 1975. Following two years of college teaching he returned to U. Iowa and earned a Masters degree in Computer Science. He then spent two years in industry before joining the Computer Science faculty at Bucknell University in 1983. He taught there until his retirement in 2009.
Jerry was a Francophile, with interests in French language, culture, and cheese. He directed the Bucknell en France program in Fall 2004, and he and Jane vacationed often in France. Sabbaticals in England spurred his passion for coffee and squash playing. He enjoyed listening to music and was an enthusiastic reader of English, French, and Japanese literature. Jerry learned French and had started learning Japanese to be able to read in the original languages.
In addition to his wife Jane, he is survived by two sons, Nathan of Evanston, Illinois, and Andrew of Baltimore, Maryland; a sister, Kathe Cooper of Butler, Wisconsin; and a brother, Stuart Mead of Berlin, Germany.
A celebration of his life will be held at a future date.
The family suggests that donations in Jerry’s memory be made to the Public Library of Union County or the Eastern Union County Supplemental Food Program c/o the First Baptist Church in Lewisburg.
Arrangements are by the John H. Shaw III Funeral Home, Lewisburg.
When I owned a business downtown, I always enjoyed Jerry’s open and friendly banter. He was a great townie.
In addition to his acclaimed professional achievement in teaching, research, and service, Jerry was a strong proponent for women in computing. He was an early member of the nation-wide CRA “Distributed Mentor’s Program.” He mentored a number of women undergraduate students in the department. He was a great mentor and a true friend.
Jerry was a dedicated and accomplished educator. He was an active member of SIGCSE, a professional organization for world-wide computer science educators. He taught a number of computer science courses, including introductory CS courses, programming languages, and operating systems. He taught CSCI 203 (first introductory computer science course) for many years. His IBM (Itty-Bitty-Machine) simulator for that course contains a simple instruction set and a memory model that allow students to see how a program is executed in computer. His compiler project as a sequence of lab exercises in his programming languages course was also very well known.
Jerry also taught the course of “Theory of Computation” regularly.
Jerry was the editor and chief contributor to the department newsletter “The Bucknell Connection” for years. The semi-annual newsletter carried highlights in the department as well as the courses offered for each of the semester along with descriptions of the elective courses. The newsletter was originally printed and distributed to students and alum. In later years, the newsletter became online and had its presence within the university web system.