Jerry Finkel

Jerry was born in 1933 in Brooklyn, NY. He completed his public school education in 1951 and went on to Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA, where he earned a BEE degree (Bachelor of Electrical Engineering) in 1955. He received a full Fellowship at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute and earned an MEE degree (Master of Electrical Engineering) in 1956.
           
His first job as an engineer was at Sperry Gyroscope Co., Long Island, working on the guidance system for the B-58 bomber-fighter aircraft. In his second job, he worked on the development of a radiation-resistant computer. Then, as an Engineering Supervisor, Jerry oversaw the integration of the hardware and software for the first digital (computerized) long–range radio navigation system (LORAN) for airborne and ship guidance which was a forerunner of the Geo positioning system.
           
Jerry met his wife Carol on a blind date on February 14 (Valentine’s Day), 1962, and they were married on October 28 of the same year. They have two daughters: Debbi, who lives in New Hampshire with her husband Chris and their three children; and Karen, who lives in Massachusetts with her husband Brian and their two children.

Jerry left Sperry and Long Island in 1969 for Acton, MA, and the Raytheon Company. For the next twenty-three years, he was a Program Manager, reporting to upper management and Army Missile Command in Huntsville, AL. Jerry was responsible for meeting schedule and cost requirements and overseeing proposal preparations in the following Patriot Missile Program Areas: Ground System Test Equipment, Missile Guidance System Development, Flight Test at White Sands Missile Range, NM and Special Access for the Development of a Patriot Variant. His last job was involved a company-funded program to develop Patriot Advanced Capabilities. Every day there were a number of different challenges to meet and solve. He retired in 1992. Among other reasons, Jerry and Carol decided they would prefer a warmer climate, so they moved to Boynton Beach, Florida, in 1995.
           
Jerry and Carol love nature and have traveled throughout the U.S. National Park system, Alaska, Central America, South America, Europe, Australia, Asia, etc. – almost everywhere except Africa. He stays active enjoying tennis, golf, bike riding, swimming, and the fitness center at Aberdeen. He is also a member of the men’s book club at Aberdeen, reading and discussing biographies, novels, politics, the Middle East, etc. He likes to play bridge and poker and spends time on the computer, monitoring his investments, and keeping abreast of financial markets.

His hobbies include photography and genealogy and his family tree goes back five generations. One of the things he has yet to do – ski with his five grandchildren.
           
Jerry has a long history of volunteering: When in Acton, MA, he was a board member of his temple, Congregation Beth Elohim. After he retired in 1992, he taught English to Russian immigrants at the temple and tutored students in math and English in the middle schools. Upon moving to Florida, he became president of his Homeowner’s Association. In addition, Jerry was a transporter at JFK Medical Center from 1996 to 2001 and a docent at Loxahatchee from 1999 to 2004 working with the naturalists, taking water samples, recording water depth, and counting birds. He transferred to Green Cay when it opened in February 2005 and is a docent on Thursdays leading boardwalk tours from 1:00–4:00 P.M.

Taking a tour is learning in the midst of nature: hearing the screeching of the Limpkin, the tap, tap, tapping of the woodpecker, the grunting of the Pig Frog, the roaring of the alligator, and much more; seeing the mother alligator guarding her nest, the soft-shell turtle reaching for air, the hens and ducks teaching their young to forage, the wading birds eyeing their prey, and much more. Our well qualified docents look forward to sharing their knowledge and experience with you, as you hear and see for yourself – in the midst of it.