Paul C. Jerrard

VANCOUVER, CANADA – SEPTEMBER 11: Jerrard Paul of the Vancouver Canucks poses for his official headshot for the 2013-14 NHL season on September 11, 2013 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images)

Paul C. Jerrard

April 20, 1965 – February 15, 2023

VISITATION begins Wednesday, February 22nd at 10am at the West Center Chapel, followed by FUNERAL SERVICE at 12noon.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be made to one of the following charitable organizations.

  • XCancer Foundation LLC; a check can be mailed to 17607 Gold Plaza, Omaha, 68130, or a physical donation is available at the public visitation
  • University of Nebraska-Omaha Hockey [Link to be added]

The family requests that the funeral service and visitation be limited to friends and family. A public reception will be held at Baxter Arena after the funeral, starting at 2pm. To view a live broadcast of the Service, please visit www.heafeyheafey.com and click the “View Live Cast” button at the top of the home page.

__________________________________________________________________

“My purpose is to motivate the unmotivated, educate the uneducated, and provide compassion to those in need.” Paul Jerrard’s purpose in life was one of service to those in any need, whether that be in the game of hockey or in life. His goal was to have a positive impact on everyone he met.

Paul Jerrard, loving husband, father, mentor, and coach, passed away in Omaha, Nebraska, on Wednesday, February 15, 2023.  Paul was born on April 20, 1965, to John and Merline Jerrard in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He was one of 4 siblings and grew up in Winnipeg.  In 1983, Paul met and fell in love with Cheryl Connell, and they were married on August 5, 1989.  He and Cheryl had two beautiful daughters, Catherine in 1993 and Meaghan in 1997.

While Paul’s love of hockey grew like any young child growing up in Canada would, he channeled his love for the game into an extreme work ethic.  He started his hockey career in 1969, and without taking any shortcuts, Paul found his way from amateur to professional to coach by 1997. His work ethic was only furthered by his passion for helping propel his players, friends, family, and acquaintances to be their best version of themselves. Throughout his life, he experienced many wins, losses, championships, up and downs, but his greatest achievement will always be the countless lives he positively impacted.

He is survived by his wife, Cheryl; his mother, Merline; his two daughters, Catherine and Meaghan; as well as his three siblings: Paulette, Michelle, and Denise.

Paul Jerrard, a titan of the game of hockey, had a mentality of making the world and those in it better than they are today.

The Jerrard family would like to thank Paul’s devoted medical team at X-Cancer, Dr. Luke Nordquist, Sarah Meier, and the medical staff, in Omaha, Nebraska. In addition, the family would like to thank those who cared for him at Methodist Hospital.  Paul leaves behind a legacy of humility, generosity, passion, sincerity, and authenticity as a father, husband, coach, and friend.  He was a remarkable human who will be dearly missed.

13 Comments

  • Raichel White Posted February 19, 2023 12:49 pm

    The world lost a great man. I am honored to have known and worked with Paul never a complaint and always a thank you.

  • Phyllis and Olsen Jarvis Posted February 21, 2023 7:01 pm

    Our heartfelt condolences to you. We hold you up in our prayers during this difficult time.

  • Darcy Juntunen Posted February 21, 2023 9:25 pm

    Love to all of the family! Paulie is/was one of kind. He will be surely missed. A great father, husband,, brother, son, friend,, coach, etc.! May he rest in peace! We are fortunate to have him in our lives❤️❤️❤️

  • Cathy Klick 425-301-7226 Posted February 21, 2023 9:41 pm

    Cheryl,
    My thoughts and prayers are with you and the girls at this painfully difficult time. Paul was one of Alan’s favorite people, although we didn’t share must time with you and him they connected several times a year. Alan watched Paul’s career closely and would text and email following his teams accomplishments. I don’t know if you remember Andrew but he was quite upset when he learned about Paul, he called crying. Paul was so good to Andrew, he pushed, stretched, challenged him on the ice and in conversations. Andrew’s 1st favorite hockey player and he looked forward every years to seeing Paul at camp in Hershey.
    The impact of Paul’s death on Andrew and me was significant and we have both concluded that in losing Paul we lost another part of Alan from our world.
    If you would ever want to talk about Paul and Alan, your grief or anything don’t hesitate to call me, I am willing to share my experience after losing Alan. With Fondness, Cathy

  • BLAIR ATCHEYNUM Posted February 22, 2023 7:34 am

    A very sad day, there are none better than Pauly. Please accept our deepest sympathy’s. Our thought’s, prayers and love are with you Cheryl and family.

  • Lynne Potter Posted February 22, 2023 8:09 am

    I was so saddened & sorry to hear about your husbands death. My thoughts & prayers are with you & your family🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 Class won’t be the same without you !! Take care & know that you will be missed.🙏🏻❤️🙏🏻

  • Andrew Klick Posted February 22, 2023 12:40 pm

    Cheryl –
    My thoughts and prayers are with you and the girls at this difficult time. Whoever said don’t meet your heroes was sorely mistaken when it came to Paul. As a 7-year-old at Hersey Bears games I would be wearing my Jerrard jersey proudly cheering for Paul and the Bears – he was/is my favorite player. I was lucky enough at that time to get Paul to autograph my jersey – which I still have., I even changed my number to 4. The number stuck with me until my later years when I had to change it but I wanted to keep as close as I could, so I change to 24 to still honor him. Who would of thought as a 7 year old kid that one of my heroes would eventually become a coach and a friend over numerous at hockey camps, helping me with a college project or even taking the time to go to dinner after games. Paul pushed me to be a better player and better man.

    If there is anything I can do to support, you all please feel free to reach out.

  • Andrew Klick Posted February 22, 2023 12:42 pm

    Cheryl,

    My thoughts and prayers are with you and the girls at this difficult time. Whoever said don’t meet your heroes was sorely mistaken when it came to Paul. As a 7-year-old at Hersey Bears games I would be wearing my Jerrard jersey proudly cheering for Paul and the Bears – he was/is my favorite player. I was lucky enough at that time to get Paul to autograph my jersey – which I still have. I even changed my jersey number to 4. The number stuck with me until my later years when I had to change it but I wanted to keep as close as I could, so I change to 24 to still honor him. Who would of thought as a 7 year old kid that one of my heroes would eventually become a mentor, coach and friend over numerous at hockey camps, helping me with college projects or even taking the time to go to dinner after games when he was in the town I was living in. Paul pushed me to be a better player and better man.
    If there is anything I can do to support, you all please feel free to reach out.

  • Heather Fronk Posted February 22, 2023 2:19 pm

    Cheryl, Catherine and Meaghan,

    I am so terribly sorry for your loss. There are not words I can say to fill the hole in your hearts. Pauly was truly one of a kind and he is leaving behind a legacy! I am so sorry I was not able to make it today, I really wish I was able to come say “see ya later”

  • chris galton Posted February 22, 2023 3:28 pm

    God bless always in my prayers

  • Kory Scoran Posted February 24, 2023 10:20 pm

    The Hockey world will never be the same ! Such a great guy who left an impact on everyone he came across! Thoughts , prayers and love to his family and friends !

  • Karen C Temborius Posted March 5, 2023 5:40 pm

    Cheryl,
    A loss on so many levels. May the Lord embrace you in his loving arms and help you through this most challenging of times. His positive influence will last for generations to come.

  • Harold Kemp Posted June 17, 2023 4:50 am

    I met Paul back in 1992 in Kalamazoo. He was up in the press box and we chatted for a while, and he even let me do a short interview. I was sports editor of a tiny daily, but he was kind and gracious as any player I ever met. I enjoyed watching his games as a K-Wing, and later followed his coaching career. Was shocked today to learn of his passing. My condolences to his family. Sure seemed like a great human being!

Sign Guestbook

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *