Jerome G. Krejci

Jerome "Jerry" Krejci, 80, of East Grand Forks, MN, passed into the loving embrace of Jesus Christ on August 12th at Altru Hospital surrounded by his family. Jerome was born on March 21st, 1931 to George and Juliet (Johnson) Krejci. He was raised on the family farm outside of East Grand Forks and attended Sacred Heart High School after attending a rural elementary school near the farm. Jerome joined the North Dakota National Guard at age 17 and served as a Sargent in M company of the 164th Infantry. He was activated and served in the United States Army during the Korean War. After training in the U.S., Jerome went to Korea and saw action with the 24th Infantry Division. He was awarded a Purple Heart with Oak Leaf Clusters. Dad was proud of his service to his country while also saying throughout his life that war was, "no way for countries to solve their differences." Jerome married Beverly Fontaine at Sacred Heart Church on June 21st, 1955 and they lived their entire lives in East Grand Forks. Jerome farmed with his father George, raising wheat, seed potatoes, and sugar beets. Later, his son Mike joined the farm and Dad was proud that his son became such a good farmer. Jerome was a devoted husband and a wonderful father. He enjoyed watching his children grow into adulthood and he was delighted with his grandchildren. Jerome was a faithful Catholic who served the Church. He worked with Fr. John Stearns to organize religious education classes and for many years Jerome and his good friend Mike O'Leary organized and sold tickets for the annual Sacred Heart athletic booster party. For their work on this event, Jerome and Mike were inducted into the Sacred Heart Athletic Hall of Fame. Dad said that his Sacred Heart sports career was never going to qualify him for this honor, "... so it was a good thing I knew how to sell tickets." Dad also served the church through his ministry of ushering at the 9:00am mass at Sacred Heart for over 60 years. Later in life, he faithfully served U.S. veterans through his involvement in the Disabled American Veterans organization. He served as the commander of the North Dakota D.A.V. from '98-'99 and rose to serve in a number of national D.A.V. positions. Dad believed that this nation asked much of our soldiers and owed much to our veterans. Jerome's family wishes to thank his D.A.V. buddies, his friends at Darcie's Cafe, and the many other people from Sacred Heart and surrounding area who were such good friends to Dad for many years. He is survived by his children Diane (George) Zakula, Mankato, MN, Mark (Julie) Krejci, Moorhead, MN and their children Andrea (Phil) Paradis and Patrick Krejci, and Mike Krejci of East Grand Forks and his children, Amber (Trevor) Johnson and Ashlyn Krejci. He was preceded in death by his wife Beverly and his parents.