REIDHEAD, Jerry Kay

The White Mountain Independent, Show Low, Arizona ~ 03/25/2014 Jerry Kay Reidhead, 79, resident of Scottsdale, died March 10, 2014, under the care of Hospice of the Valley in Scottsdale. He was born Jan. 16, 1935, in Taylor, the 12th son of 12 children, to Edwin and Josephine Corella (Kay) Reidhead. Jerry grew up in Taylor and Show Low and attended Snowflake High School. He was a deep sea diver in the Navy and became a third class diver, also known as a hard hat and frog man. After the service, he attended Arizona State University and was active in sports. For some time after the service, Jerry worked in Hawaii, California and in Scottsdale in heavy equipment as a crane operator, road engineer and land developer. In 1957, Jerry married Marlene Scroggins. They had three children: Randy, Susanne and Patricia. Marlene was born in Long Beach, Calif., and attended school in Compton, majoring in drama and dancing, which she taught in Scottsdale and Show Low. Beginning in 1978, Jerry and Marlene both went to work for Reidhead Lumber Company in Show Low. In their retirement years, Jerry and Marlene spent time traveling with friends. They also loved spending time at their casa in Cholla Bay, Mexico. Marlene passed away in 2009. They were married over 50 years. For the past five years, Jerry spent much of his time traveling between Cholla Bay and Scottsdale, and loved to host family barbecues with his many nephews. Jerry is survived by his last remaining sibling Nadine Baird, daughters Susanne of Scottsdale and Patty (Sherry) of Massachusetts, and grandson Cody of Phoenix. He was preceded in death by his only son Randy and 10 brothers and sisters. A memorial to honor Jerry will be held in October in Scottsdale.