Jerry Daraio

Jerry, baptized Girolomo, was a gift from the start. Born on his mother’s birthday, October 17, 1933 at home in East New York, Brooklyn. The third son of Maria and Innocenzo and brother of Anthony and Frankie.

He grew up playing stick ball in the street and basketball in the park. He attended Our Lady of Loreto grammar school, serving as altar boy and boy scout. He quickly won the favor of the Irish Franciscan Sisters, graduating first in his class in 1947 earning him a full scholarship to Bishop Loughlin High School. Impressed with the Christian brothers, he followed them to Manhattan College in 1951, majoring in civil engineering and working alongside his father in construction in the summers. Jerry graduated in 1955 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering.

His first job as consultant engineer was quickly interrupted when he was drafted into the Army Corps of Engineers and assigned as a Specialist to the Presidio of San Francisco, California as a cartographer. After the army, Jerry returned to consulting engineering, joining the firm of Dermot Reddy, rising to the position of Chief Engineer.

After 23 years, he pursued an opportunity with Slattery/Skanska as Project Manager and never looked back. Among those projects were his favorite JFK AirTrain and his “swan song,” the Oculus at Ground Zero, where he worked alongside renowned Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava. Jerry’s mantra –“under budget, ahead of schedule.”

Of all his accomplishments, he was most proud of his cadre of family and friends built over the years. Mary, his beloved wife of 53 years. His four children- Regina, Elizabeth, Richard and Bernadette and their spouses Pete, John, Kathy and Luke. Six grandchildren- Danielle, Sara (Tyler), Joe (Samatha), Clare, Katie (Nick) and Stephanie and two great grandchildren- Roman and Marigold.

Jerry loved traveling from his daily trip to the diner to his favorite Ireland. He was called by a friend “the most Irish Italian he ever met.” His last request was to celebrate his 92nd birthday in Ireland.

It’s been quite a journey, an unforgettable man, a life well lived. How blessed we were to share this journey with him.