Gerald Martin Amero
September 23, 1938 - March 31, 2021
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Gerald M. “Jerry” Amero died peacefully on March 31, 2021. He was born in Rumford, Maine on September 23, 1938, the eldest son of Frank Amero and Mona Bedard Amero. He was born on the day that the Great New England Hurricane of 1938 reached Maine, portending an interesting and impactful life.
Even as a young boy growing up in Auburn, Maine, he had an incredible work ethic, finding jobs wherever he could. He had a paper route, picked blueberries, and snuck out of the house at night to operate a cider press. He graduated from Edward Little High School in 1956, where he excelled at academics and athletics. He quarterbacked the football team, establishing rushing records as an option style quarterback and was chosen as one of the two delegates from Maine Boys State to participate in Boys Nation in 1956. Majoring in English, Jerry received an A.B. cum laude from Harvard College where he was a member of Winthrop House in 1960 and an LL.B.degree from Cornell University in 1963.
Shortly after law school, Jerry joined the Portland, Maine law firm now known as Pierce Atwood where he worked for more than forty years. He was a renowned lawyer and was respected by colleagues and clients for his integrity, insight and character. He was a specialist in Public Utility Law and later in his career he worked with the governments of Albania and Moldova to establish a legal framework to privatize their utility industries.
In 1961 he married Jane Adams and together they raised a family of three children in Cape Elizabeth, Maine. Despite working long hours, he was a constant and enthusiastic presence at his kid’s hockey games, swim meets, and other activities. He would often wake the kids up early on Sunday morning and announce that we were going on an “adventure”, which usually involved crisscrossing the State of Maine with no particular plan - but was always memorable.
In 2003 Jerry married Montserrat Ginés Gibert of Barcelona Spain and they have spent the last twenty years splitting their time between peaceful Sebago Lake in Raymond, Maine and cosmopolitan Barcelona. In Spain, he enjoyed exploring smaller towns and the local food culture with Montse’s six siblings.
Jerry had many passions in his life and always went all in on his hobbies and interests. He loved art and bought paintings when he could not afford furniture. He had an insatiable interest in history and ancestry. He loved to travel and embraced the culture of new places he visited, providing a way to connect with people. He visited China and came back with amazing art and artifacts. He worked in Louisiana and immersed himself in Cajun music and Cajun humor – he had a full repertoire of lengthy Thibodeaux jokes. He married Montse and embraced the Barça football team and Spanish wines, especially Priorats.
His greatest passion, however, was family. His heart was so big, and he loved his family endlessly, always thinking of others and making the effort to spend time with everyone. He had special relationships with many extended family members and his love and compassion will be sorely missed.
In recent years, he was writing a book titled “Sixty Years ‘On the Rim’” in Arctic Alaska about his Great Uncle who lived in the wilderness of the Yukon Territory well into his nineties. He completed about 70 pages and the dedication reads “To my Great Uncle Alfred who endured for one hundred years and my grandchildren: Janie, Zachary, Luke, Xander, Drew, Emery, and Indiana, my step-children: Ben and Clara, may they be happy and endure as long and well pursuing their own dreams”.
Jerry is survived by his loving wife Montserrat, his three children, two stepchildren, nine grandchildren, and his first wife Jane Amero. He is also survived by his brother Tim Amero and his wife Claire. His children in birth order: Scott Amero, his wife Karen, and their children Janie (husband Jonathan Willén), Zachary, Luke, and Xander; Brett Amero, his wife Coleen, and their daughters Drew and Emery; Melanie Grossbard, her husband Seth, and their son Indiana; Ben Martínez, his wife Sara, and their daughters Maia and Vera; and Clara Martínez.