— Jerome Joseph Zaucha —
October 27, 1952 — June 22, 2024
Jerome Joseph Zaucha passed away on June 22, 2024, in Melbourne, FL, from end-stage kidney failure. Jerry is survived by his wife and best friend of 43 years, Lisa, son J. Morgan Zaucha, sister Lucia Zaucha Knoles (Tom Knoles), brother Mark Zaucha (Sue Kichline), niece Jennifer Zaucha (Joshua Fried), and uncle Tom Zaucha (Bernadette), and cousin Rachel Zaucha.
Born in Uniontown, PA, the grandson of coal miners and son of Bridget and Joseph Zaucha, Jerry was raised in Washington, PA, and graduated from Immaculate Conception High School (1970), where he excelled in speech and debate. He earned a B.S. in Economics from the University of Notre Dame (1974) and his J.D. from Yale Law School (1977). Jerry spent his college summers working with his father, President of Suwak Trucking Company, out of Washington, PA. At that time, even Pittsburgh Steelers football players worked there to supplement their salaries.
In his personal life, Jerry was known for his irreverent humor and deep intellect. A voracious reader passionate about historical fiction, Jerry’s gift for language made him the master of the one-liners. He was never at a loss for words. While not traditionally sentimental, he loved his time at Notre Dame and being one of the founding fathers of the Holy Cross Hogs, the charismatic misfits who inhabited Holy Cross Hall. Separated from the more conventional dorms by St. Mary’s Lake, a favorite dare of Holy Cross residents was taking the shortcut to campus across the lake, hoping spring had not yet sprung. As a founding Hog, Jerry treasured their T-shirt featuring the golden dome with a golden hog on top—instead of the Virgin Mary. Until his retirement, the framed shirt hung on the wall of his office to the delight of visiting Domers.
None of these hijinks distracted Jerry from his intellectual and professional ambitions. Needing some private space, he converted a broom closet across from his room into a study. In that tiny closet, equipped with only a single chair under the glare of a pull-chain lightbulb, Jerry dedicated countless hours towards earning his Summa Cum Laude and a full scholarship to Notre Dame law school.
Jerry chose to attend Yale Law School and won the highly prized Moot Court competition, earning a dinner with Supreme Court Justice Byron “Whizzer” White.
While his career in international trade netted him notable accolades, what brought Jerry the greatest satisfaction was mentoring young associates. He felt a special affinity for fellow Pittsburgher Chase Kaniecki and Dan Gerkin, a fellow member of the two-man bocce ball team known as The Beef Brothers. Jerry was immensely proud of their professional achievements, and after retirement, he greatly missed the camaraderie and daily trash-talking. Jerry also valued his friendships with his Holy Cross Hog buddies, housemates at Yale, and colleagues he respected; however, he never suffered fools gladly—or at least not silently. If he sometimes paid a price for his unwillingness to kiss the ring, he could never bend the knee to someone he did not consider honorable.
Seemingly stolid in public life, Jerry lavished affection on his dogs. While expressing disdain for the family cats, he relished the little victories of winning them over. Jerry’s sentimental side also came out when watching the movie Rudy, about the dyslexic son of steelworkers who made the ND football team practice squad. In the darkness of the movie theater, Jerry cried violently and unashamedly as he watched the triumphant moment when Rudy got the call to join the team in the final game of his final year. Years later, Lisa purchased a Cameo.com video from the star of Rudy, Sean Astin, who recorded a personal birthday message for Jerry, who watched it repeatedly…tearing up each time.
PHOTO CREDIT for Hogs Senior Class of 1974—James Latta. That’s Jerry smack in the middle w/ blonde hair.
The joy of Jerry’s and Lisa’s life was their son, Morgan. Jerry cherished the hours he spent playing Mario Brothers, visiting bookstores, and building habitats for the reptiles that were always escaping from said habitat. Lisa and Jerry fostered Morgan’s natural interest in languages by going on family trips to far-flung parts of the globe, where Jerry would sit contentedly on a bench while Morgan and Lisa contributed to the retail economy. On those trips, Jerry was under strict orders not to attempt any local language as he had yet to master English outside Pittsburgh. Yinz understand?
While Jerry would freely admit he was a flawed man, he believed raising Morgan was the honor of his life. Lisa and Jerry hit a bump at the 10-year mark but never really let go. Jerry joined Lisa in Florida in 2014 and got the band back together again in 2018. Because they enjoyed each other’s company better than anybody else’s, they maximized the pandemic years by traveling the world via online streaming.
We lost an honorable man, but he lives on in the many lives he touched. Please share any stories you have on the Facebook link or drop Lisa a line via email below.