Gerald (Jerry) Eugene Dow

Jerry Dow passed away peacefully in the early morning of May 6, 2026, after a very long and arduous battle against metastatic melanoma. Jerry was born in Worcester, Massachusetts and passed in Sierra Vista, Arizona. He follows his deceased parents Richard and Madeline Dow and brother Richard Dow. He left Massachusetts as a young adult to settle in Santa Barbara where he worked with the SB Police Department as a Crime Analyst and Reserve Officer, eventually retiring to Sierra Vista where he taught in the local public schools.

During his residence in Santa Barbara Jerry dedicated himself to public services working with the youth in scouting, soccer, and surfing. It was in the latter that he found his calling and passion, creating his own legacy, where he worked with a number of other adults who shared the vision to create Christion Surfing Santa Barbara, a service for the youth in the local surfing community, as a Christion Ministry.

He saw this as a personal service to God: a place to provide healthy instruction and competitions, while sharing meals, fellowship, worship and teaching. This work eventually spread with great success from local, to statewide, to national ... aligning with Christian Surfers United States and working alongside global organizations. Jerry is survived by his four children Jared Dow, Janel Huff, Joanna Dow, and James Dow, as well as his former wife Maxine Avila and their three grandchildren Reza Farinpour, Josiah Dow, and Kaira Dow.

A service to celebrate his life will be held at Calvary Chapel, Santa Barbara on Sunday July 19, 2026 at 3;00 pm.