Gerry Raffurty

Gerry Ellen Raffurty, 71, of Creve Coeur, Missouri, formerly of Pleasant Hill, was born, July 30, 1943, in Anna, Illinois, the daughter of Remel S. and Dorothy G. (Gay) Grey. She departed this life at 2:36 a.m. Sunday, June 28, 2015, at the Dolan Memory Care, Creve Coeur.

Gerry was a (1961) Hardin, Missouri, High School graduate. She earned her Bachelor's in nursing from Kansas City School of Nursing.

On October 10, 1964 she was united in marriage to Robert Philip Raffurty in Hardin, Missouri. He preceded her in death on September 9, 2013.

Gerry was employed as a nurse. She had worked for St Luke's Hospital in Kansas City, the Cass Medical Center in Harrisonville, the St. Joseph Medical Center in Kansas City, and the Verde Valley Medical Center in Cottonwood, Arizona. She was a member of the Order of Eastern Star, Ivy Leaf Chapter #215, Pleasant Hill, and the Elks Lodge #1361, Cottonwood.

Mom was one of the most compassionate & hard working people you would ever meet making her a perfect fit for a nurse - which she loved. Her staff talked many times of how much they loved her, even though she was tough. When a department under her had an issue, she would personally go work with the employees so that she knew exactly what they were talking about, allowing her to get a better idea on how to fix the issue. She taught us the love of family, to work hard, to never take anything for granted and that anything in life is possible. Mom was a loving and supportive mother and a loving wife. Most of all, our mother had an extreme sense of fairness. In mom's perfect world, she believed women should be treated as equally as men, the poor the same as the wealthy, the privileged the same as the underprivileged. Those principles resonated through to everyone she came in contact with. If you could say mom hated something, it would be discrimination; especially racism. The thought that people would blatantly treat or hate other people because of their race, really upset our mom. Everyone had an equal shot and privilege of gaining our mom's friendship, whether you liked her or not. Mom loved the mountains, her family, and of course working with so many diverse and interesting people she met in the health care field. Through this dementia and now death, our memories of you have and never will be lost on us. We will always love you. This is not goodbye - this is until we meet again! Until then, you will be our beautiful guardian angel.

Gerry was also preceded in death by her father.

She is survived by her mother Dorothy Grey of Arvada, Colorado, one son Michael (and Tammy) Raffurty of Sterling, Colorado; one daughter Connie Weddington of St. Peters, Missouri; two Grandchildren, Randa (and Ryan) Bailey of Harrisonville, Missouri, and Chelsea Raffurty of Sterling; three great grandchildren; one brother Gary (and Phyllis) Grey of St. Louis; one sister, Randa Gayle (and Kent) of Arvada; other relatives; and many friends.

Cremation has been accorded. No services are scheduled at this time.