Read about Jerry...
At 6 months old, he was adopted by J.C. and Cora Emery of Tulsa, OK. At the age of 6 years old, he began accordion lessons. His mom and dad frequently went to Cain’s Ballroom to dance and listen to ‘Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys’. They would often take Jerry with them. Little did he know that one day he'd have the opportunity to be a part of the history of that famous Tulsa landmark. It wasn't long until he started playing Western Swing and Country songs on his accordion (by ear), therefore neglecting his regular lessons. He won his first talent contest at the age of 10 years old. This was held on the stage of the Old Cameo Movie Theater in West Tulsa. He won a second talent contest at 11 years old, which was aired over local radio station KTUL in Tulsa. The Master of Ceremonies was Al Clauser and Roy Pickett. He remembers Art Davis and his Band playing over the same station at that time.
In February of 1957 Jerry and Shirley had twin girls, Janice and Jara. They were born a couple of months early, therefore incurred a lengthy hospital stay. They soon became a handful. In February of 1959 they added another daughter, Kathy. In 1960 Jerry began playing the piano (by ear). In 1961 Jerry accepted employment with Rockwell International. He spent 30 years there, retiring in 1992 as a Tooling Inspector. In 1991 he also ended 23 years with the National Guard and Army Reserves. Once again, music became his primary focus. In 1991, Jerry was inducted into the California Western Swing Hall of Fame. Jerry and Shirley were ambassadors for the Western Swing Society in Sacramento, CA. They represented the society in the area of Public Relations for the OKlahoma-Texas-Kansas-Arkansas area.
Jerry has 13 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren. Since his diagnosis with Parkinsons Disease his health is declining. Occassional strokes have left him in a wheel chair and his speech is impaired. |
Jerry was born to 29 year old Ada Myers on January 18, 1935 and named Vernon William Wiles. The only thing he knows for sure is that she was accompanied by her mother and her husband had died about 4 years earlier. His father was declared 'unknown'. Dad was born in Kansas City, MO and turned over to the Harry Evans Founding Home. Kansas City, at one time, was a big city where young girls could come from all around the Midwest, and from other points around the country, be anonymous, deliver their babies and then go home to try to rebuild their lives.
In 1953 at the age of 18, Jerry married his childhood sweetheart, Shirley Ann Church. He got a job at a local machine shop and also joined the army Reserves. At that time his music career became ‘part-time’. Over the years he performed with many musicians around Tulsa and Oklahoma City, including several Western Swing bands from the Sacramento area. See the timeline below. 
In May of 2006, his wife Shirley was diagnosed with ALS ( Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) also known as ‘Lou Gehrig’s Disease’. Exactly one year later, after a steady decline, she died of the disease.