Derry - Gerard "Gerry" Emile St. Amand, of Derry, NH, died on January 22, 2025. He was 78. He leaves behind his wife, Jane, of 43 years, his two adult daughters, and many other family members and friends. His youthful spirit and charisma leave an imprint on the hearts of many.

Gerry was born in Lawrence, MA, on May 15, 1946, to Gertrude and Emile St. Amand. He was the third of seven children. He enjoyed retelling lively stories of childhood memories and mischief.

From a young age, Gerry learned resourcefulness, independence, and perseverance following the untimely death of his father when he was in the eighth grade and the death of his younger sister, Donna, a few years later, who was closest in age to him. Thankfully, Gerry had supportive uncles offering fatherly roles, but these early losses shaped his own inner resilience.

Gerry graduated from Lawrence High School in 1964, where he was nicknamed "Sainty" by friends. As a youth, he enjoyed model car building, ice skating, hockey, and football.

At Lawrence High, he studied manual arts and aspired to become a machinist. Following high school, he took technical courses at local community colleges and attended trade school throughout the years to hone his craft.

He became a machinist and ultimately a tool and die maker, working in several different manufacturing facilities in southern New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Gerry loved good music and reminiscing about his "Hippie Days," to include attending the original 1969 Woodstock Festival and hitchhiking with friends across the country. He played hockey, golf, and enjoyed participating in several bowling leagues.

Years later in 1977, he met Jane in Lawrence, after assisting her with cleaning snow off her car following a winter storm. The two married on October 17, 1981, in Massachusetts, a date that would eventually become the birthday of his first granddaughter. The couple shared a mutual interest of travel, antiquing, camping, hiking, dining out, and cooking.

The couple moved from Lawrence to Derry, NH, and in 1984 had their first daughter, Alyson. In 1989, they had their second daughter, Kaitlyn. Gerry took great pride and relished in the company of "his three girls." He taught his daughters that they could do anything they aspired to and supported their interests from sports to the arts.

Over the years, Gerry hiked, fished, and camped in the White Mountains of New Hampshire with his family and spent time with his pets. He was a favorite at extended family gatherings, as all enjoyed his stories and jokes. Since his retirement, he spent summers in Lubec, Maine, where he enjoyed reading, clamming, ocean views, visiting his friends, and trips over the bridge to Campobello Island, New Brunswick Canada for tea with his wife, Jane.

He was a provider to his family in every sense of the word, always ensuring their cars were well maintained and taking on several design projects around the home, like building his back deck, a sunroom, and a retaining wall. Later in life, Gerry developed an artistic side, doing folk painting on decorative objects. He enjoyed Stephen King books, Sudoku puzzles, and playing online cards. Up until his death, Gerry continued to be someone who would strike up a conversation with a stranger in the store.

Gerry is survived by his wife, Jane, of Derry, NH, his daughters Alyson Alabi and her husband Timothy Alabi of Maryland, and Kaitlyn St. Amand and fiancé Miles Hanson of Portsmouth, NH, as well as his grandchildren, Nicholas Alabi and Evie Alabi. He leaves behind his brother Kenneth St. Amand and sisters Rosemarie St. Amand and Pamela Hibbert, all of Florida, many nieces and nephews, grand nieces and nephews, and cousins. He also leaves behind many lifelong friends, including Bob McMaster of Nottingham, NH, and Thomas Lannan of Centerville, MA.

Gerry was predeceased by his parents as well as his sisters, Donna St. Amand and Carol Curtin, both of Lawrence, and Joan O'Neil of Lowell.

Family and friends are invited to attend calling hours on Saturday, February 1, 2025, from 9 to 10:30 a.m. at Carrier Family Funeral Home, 38 Range Road, Windham, NH, with a mass to follow next door, at 11 a.m., at St. Matthew's Parish, 2 Searles Road, Windham, NH.