Gerard (Gerry) Lawrence Commerford (1934-2012), who lived in retirement in Irvine, California, was descended from a branch of the family who had emigrated from Kilkenny to New York in the mid-19th century, and both his paternal grandparents, Timothy Commerford and Anna (Comerford) Commerford, were members of this family.
He is often referred to today as the father of Tim Commerford, best known as the bassist and backing vocalist with the rock band Rage Against the Machine. But Gerry Commerford is also remembered as an aerospace engineer who worked on the Space Shuttle.
This branch of the family can be traced back to:
John Commerford of New York, who married Margaret Carboy. Margaret died on 15 January 1899, and John Commerford died on 14 December 1914. They were the parents of:
Timothy Carboy Commerford (1879-1946) of New York. He was born in New York in September 1879, and died in King’s County, Brooklyn, on 2 November 1946. He married Anna (Comerford) Commerford (1875-1962), daughter of Peter Comerford (1825-1902) and Margaret Anna J (Sullivan) Comerford (1833-1911). Her father Peter Comerford was born in Kilkenny on 10 May 1825 and he died in New York on 4 October 1902.
Anna (Comerford) Commerford and Timothy Commerford were the parents of:
Eugene J Commerford ( -1968). He married Charlotte (Meisenheimer), daughter of Charles David Meisenheimer (born 1877) and Charlotte (Dyckman) Meisenheimer (1883-1973), the descendants of families with German ancestry. Charlotte Commerford died in 1973, and Eugene Commerford died in 1968. They were the parents of at least two sons:
1, Eugene Commerford.
2, Gerard (Gerry) Lawrence Commerford (1934-2012).
The second named son:
Gerard (Gerry) Lawrence Commerford (1934-2012) was born on 22 May 1934 in Greenport, Long Island, New York. He graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York, with a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering. While he was at Rensselaer, he was a member of the Theta Xi fraternity. Later, he received a master’s degree from the University of Southern California (USC) and an MBA from Pepperdine University in Los Angeles.
As an aerospace engineer and manager, Gerry began his career working on the X-15 rocket-propelled experimental plane that reached space. He spent much of his career working on the Space Shuttle programme. His leadership and technical capability played a key role in the successful Return-to-Flight of the Space Shuttle Discovery on 29 September 1988.
Among his many professional awards, he received the 1976 Gas Turbine Award for the Most Outstanding Technical Paper.
Gerry was greatly admired for his integrity and character by his colleagues at Rockwell and by the NASA officials and engineers he worked with. For the many people he supervised, he was not just a boss but ‘a true friend and mentor’, a ‘stand-up guy’, who took immense pride in making himself available to everybody, leaving his office to walk among the workers to visit and to know each person.
Gerry was athletic and enjoyed sports. He and his wife Nancy bowled for years, and Gerry hiked, biked, and played golf. One of his proudest achievements was to hike down the Grand Canyon and back up, eight months after back surgery, at the age of 66.
Gerry and Nancy also took several holidays with a great group of friends. In later years, they discovered the Elderhostel programme and their trips included a 10-day programme to all the national parks in Utah. In Gerry’s last year, he and Nancy also took up duplicate bridge and, with his competitive spirit, consistently racked up master points.
He married Bobbie Ruth (Smith), a teacher and mathematician, from Arkansas on 23 November 1957 in Los Angeles. She was the daughter of Joseph Elgin Smith (1906-1971) and Willie Mae (Murdaugh) Smith. They were divorced on 1 October 1984, and she died in 1988. They were the parents of six children:
1, Sharon, married Tom Ragghianti.
2, Patricia, married Kris Kirk.
3, Joan, married Steve …
4, Dorothy, married Paul Ervin.
5, Larry Commerford married Carrie …
6, Timothy Commerford, born on 26 February 1968, in Irvine, California. He is best known as the bassist and backing vocalist with the rock band Rage Against the Machine. He married Aleece Dimas and they are the parents of two sons, Xavier Commerford and Quentin Commerford.
After his divorce, Gerry married Nancy K Commerford, and was the stepfather of:
1, Laura Crawford
2, Bill Sheline, who married Deborah.
Gerry Commerford died at home on 3 July 2012 at the age of 78, surrounded by his wife Nancy and his children after a courageous battle with lung cancer. He was also survived by 10 grandchildren and one great-grandchild, and his brother-in-law Bob (Olympia). He was predeceased by his first wife, Robbie Ruth (Smith) Commerford (1932-1988), the mother of his children, and by his brother Eugene Commerford.
His funeral services took place in Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Irvine on 27 July 2012.
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