Jerald Wayne “Jerry” Wacha

Jerald Wayne "Jerry" Wacha

Jerald Wayne “Jerry” Wacha of Toledo, an old Bohemie plumber, died on Monday, July 6th from multiple health issues, including a bad heart caused in part by the 1975 and 1986 Boston Red Sox.

Jerry was a honest, hard working, down to earth person who always looked on the bright side and strived to make the most of the hand life dealt him. He enjoyed collecting vintage cars (a few of which actually ran), fine dining at all you can eat Chinese buffet restaurants, shopping at the highest quality consignment stores and starting (though not necessarily finishing) projects around the house.

He was born on January 23rd, 1940 in Toledo, Iowa. He was a proud veteran, enlisting in the Navy after graduating from Toledo High School in 1957. After boot camp he served as an electronics tech on the USS Wahoo (SSN-565) out of Pearl Harbor, HI and the USS Abraham Lincoln (SSBN-602) out of New London, CT. All told he was a part of three patrols spending almost an entire year submerged.

After getting married and leaving the Navy, Jerry lived in San Francisco, CA where he held various jobs including working at a meatpacking plant, selling televisions door to door and fixing copiers for Zerox.

Several years later he moved to Tolland, CT where he lived for over 20 years. He became a master plumber and started his own plumbing business which he operated for the majority of his career. Trying to keep a positive outlook during a difficult time in his life he named his business “Sunshine Plumbing” and has gone by the nickname “Sunshine” ever since. “Sunshine” always liked to make others smile, either through practical jokes (offering guests unwrapped Tootsie Rolls in a dish shaped like a toilet bowl) or through more subtle acts such as painting “Sunshine Plumbing and Fishing” on the side of his plumbing van.

Living in Connecticut, he began a lifelong love affair with the Boston Red Sox, trading his hopes and dreams for decades of heartache and misery. Jerry’s heart may have given out sooner had it not been for the events of October 2004, when his Red Sox were absolved from their past sins by defeating the evil empire on their way to winning the first of three World Series titles he would have the pleasure of witnessing during his lifetime.

One of his most cherished pastimes was going to big box home improvement stores (his favorite being Menards), not necessarily to shop but to “see what they’ve got”. He’d spend hours roaming the isles and would complain that while they had bathrooms, hunger would eventually force him to leave.

If his name sounds familiar, its because he became a bit of a celebrity later in life thanks to his secret recipe BBQ ribs, honed over several years of experimentation and one or two fires. Despite his famous ribs, his proudest culinary accomplishment by far was his discovery that sticking grapes in the freezer produced a cool delicious treat that mother nature wanted to make but couldn’t.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Carlton and Lillian and his brother Tommy. He is survived by his brother Perry Wacha (Barbara) of Marshalltown, IA; three sons: Kevin Wacha (Jennifer) of New Rochelle, NY, Eric Wacha of Toledo, IA and Thomas Wacha (Teresa) of Ames, IA and three grandchildren.

A celebration of life luncheon will be held at the Toledo American Legion from 11am until 2pm on Saturday July 11th. In lieu of flowers the family asks that you contact Menards Corporation and urge them to install all you can eat Chinese buffets inside their stores. Oh and share some frozen grapes with your friends and family you can tell them it’s an old Bohemie plumber’s trick.