Jerrald Keith Lake, 76, of Machesney Park, passed away at home on September 10, 2021. Born August 16, 1945, he lived his entire life in the Rockford, Illinois area, graduating from Rockford East High School in 1963.

A humble family man, he married the love of his life, Freda Mabel Sanderson, on March 9, 1968. They were married for 37 years before her death in 2005. Survivors include his two sons, Keith (Julie) of Westerville, Ohio and James (Kim) of Roscoe, Illinois; Judy Bailey, his partner for the past 12 years; sister Janet Goodnight; and grandchildren Elizabeth, Jenna, Kyle, Mary, and Alexandra. In addition to Freda, he was preceded in death by his parents, Wilbur and Margaret (Ness) Lake, and siblings Richard Lake and Joyce Brummett.

Jerry served his country in Vietnam from Oct. 1965 to July 1967 as a member of the 196th Light Infantry Brigade, U.S. Army. For more than 40 years, he was employed as a tool & die maker by Camcar Textron.

Jerry was a lifelong sports fan, rooting for the Brooklyn Dodgers (especially Sandy Koufax and Duke Snider), NASCAR (driver Dale Earnhardt), and the University of Illinois basketball and football teams. He was active in Vietnam Veterans organizations, including the LZ Peace Memorial. Jerry is a former member of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Rockford and Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Rockton. He was a former scout and longtime committee member of Boy Scout Troop 40.

Visitation will be at 11am, followed by memorial service at 1pm, on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021 at Julian-Poorman-Welte Funeral Home, 304 N. 5th St. in Rockford, with Rev. Brent Dahlseng, senior pastor of Grace Lutheran Church of Loves Park, officiating.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Vets Roll at https://www.vetsroll.org/donate or LZ Peace Memorial https://www.lzpeace.org/.

Obit providied by Kay (Carroll) Strand