Jerry Ison

Jerry Landrum Ison, 87, beloved son, husband and father, was called to his eternal resting place on April 6, 2025. He entered this world on October 12, 1937 in Portales, NM, born to Joe Landrum Ison and Tulsa Jewel Ison. He is survived by his daughter Jerri Citty; step-daughter Cheryl Lynn (Alexander) Johnson; daughter Madeline Jewel (Ison) Arnold; step-sister Carolyn (Ison) (Benny) West, and their families. He is preceded in death by his parents, his maternal uncle, Thomas Edgar McDonald, Jr. in February 1925 at age 2 years and 12 days old, his wife, Madeline (Whitley) Ison, in 2013, and step-daughter, Twila Ann (Sills) Davis in 2022.

Jerry enjoyed oil painting New Mexico desert landscapes and sunsets, mountain lakes with elk and deer, WWII airplanes. He was an avid member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), and enjoyed fishing with his two lifetime friends, and friends of the family, Ellis Lynn Shutts (died May 1978) and Don Reid, both of St. Joseph, Missouri.

Jerry was a cadet at New Mexico Military Institute (NMMI) in 1954-1955. He went on to complete a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology at the University of New Mexico (UNM) in 1962 and a Master's degree in Psychology from Eastern New Mexico University, Portales, New Mexico in the Spring of 1968.

He taught Psychology for Missouri Western State College (MWSC) in St. Joseph, Missouri from 1972 - 1979 and later for Westmar College in LeMars, Iowa, in 1985-1986. He was a School Psychologist for public schools in Nebraska, Colorado, and Montana, advocating for children and adolescents with learning disabilities and/or mental illness. He volunteered as a counselor for a national suicide prevention hot-line, and was "rescued" himself by many dogs and cats over the years.