FINDING HAPPINESS
in History
Denise and Gerald (Jerry) Francis are quite the power couple, powered by a love of history. The two history buffs met in a college library more than 50 years ago. They’ve spent their lives volunteering with various non-profit organizations and sharing a love of research, writing and service to the community. Jerry moved to the health care area at Masonic Village at Lafayette Hill in late August 2021, and Denise moved to campus in October. Jerry has since joined his wife in retirement living.
JERRY FRANCIS Jerry, a retired business executive in the information technology industry, spent 22 years as president of the Lower Merion Historical Society. The award-winning historian has authored, co-authored or edited more than 15 books about the area, including “The First 200 Years: The Lower Merion Society for the Detection and Prosecution of Horse Thieves and the Recovery of Stolen Horses” (2017) and “Lower Merion and Narberth.” (2010) Jerry has given more than 200 lectures and television interviews. He has actively participated in various historic preservation projects, including the Cynwyd Train Station revitalization project (2007-2014) and the Cynwyd Heritage Trail. He also was a tour guide at Woodford Mansion, a historic mansion in Fairmount Park, among other volunteer efforts too numerous to list. Due to his tremendous accomplishments, Jerry has received several awards through the Retired Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) of Montgomery and Delaware counties, including the President’s Gold Volunteer Service Award. He received the President’s Lifetime Volunteer Award (2014) for volunteering more than 14,000 hours since 2002. He even received a citation from former President Barack Obama.
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Spring 2022 Issue
