Gerald Lou Grotta was born on November 20, 1934 in Esmond, South Dakota and passed away on March 2, 2024 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Jerry, as he preferred to be called, was the youngest of four children and the only son of Elmer Oliver Grotta and Lottie Jane Beachler. Elmer, Lottie, and Jerry's three older sisters, Phyllis, Lois, and Helen predeceased Jerry. Jerry's beloved wife Alpha passed away in September 2019, and her daughter Leslie passed away in 2010.

Jerry is survived by his four children, Rebecca Grotta, Catherine Dilts and her husband Leonard, Deborah Grotta, and Jeff Grotta and his wife Patty, and one step-son, Douglas Anderson. He is also survived by five grandchildren, Ian Grotta and his wife Andrea, Merida Bass and her husband Ronald, Jonas Grotta, Vince Grotta, and Goldie Grotta. Jerry was blessed with four great-grandchildren whom he loved dearly, Isaac Grotta, Lassina Richardson, Kyra Bass, and Aliyah Bass. He also is survived by two dogs, Stella and Buddy.

Jerry was raised on the family farm in Esmond and grew up on the tail end of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl. Despite the hardships which eventually took the family farm, Jerry had idyllic experiences of farm life which he often recounted for his children and friends. Growing up on the farm, Jerry learned lessons in rising early, working hard, and staying close to his family; lessons he applied throughout his life and career. Jerry started a life-long love of education and learning in a rural one-room schoolhouse and even walked to school with his pet pig. In 1942 his family moved to the metropolis of Sioux Falls.

It seems like Jerry was always associated with newspapers and the press. After high school he entered South Dakota State College, which was the name at the time of South Dakota State University. A proud Jackrabbit alumni, Jerry studied Journalism and met his first wife, Ruth Jane Chase, with whom he had his four children. After graduating with his Journalism degree, Jerry started working as a reporter in Watertown, South Dakota. The education bug bit him again and Jerry moved to Idaho State University in Pocatello. Although it took him farther away from the extended family in South Dakota, Jerry grew to love teaching at the college level. He also enjoyed the many family trips to Yellowstone park and the Tetons. Even when the canvas tent leaked and bears raided the campground, magical memories were made.

Jerry's next move was to southern Illinois where he started a Doctoral program in Economics. Starting out as editor of the local newspaper in Herrin, Illinois, he soon moved to Carbondale where he accepted a teaching position at Southern Illinois University while working on his Ph.D. Before moving from Herrin, Jerry covered the floor fights and street fights at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. After many years of hard work, Jerry earned his Ph.D. in economics and sharpened his interest in technology and statistics which informed his later work in marketing research. In the early 1970s, he foresaw the end of print media as it had been known for the previous 100 years, understood the impact computers would have on journalism, and participated in Congressional hearings with the National Academy of Sciences on the potential effects of computers on privacy and free speech.

From Carbondale, Jerry moved again to the University of Oklahoma in Norman. To keep up with his interest in computers, Jerry took classes that included how to program using punch cards. Jerry continued to work closely with the newspaper industry and accepted many speaking engagements. Jerry and Ruth took a once-in-a-lifetime trip to England and Scandinavia for him to keynote a seminar in Helsinki, Finland. While there, he accepted invitations to speak in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Oslo, Norway. Norway was especially meaningful to Jerry as the birthplace of his family before they emigrated.

After three years at OU, Jerry took a break from academia and moved to New Jersey to work as a partner in a marketing research firm. While in New Jersey, Jerry met Alpha and they married in 1980. That same year, Jerry, Alpha, and her children Douglas and Leslie moved to Burleson, Texas and Jerry joined the faculty at Texas Christian University. Jerry truly found a family at TCU and taught until he retired. He and Alpha also started Grotta Marketing Research which kept Jerry busy when his teaching and mentoring duties at TCU were done for the day.

Jerry lived a long and full life, enjoying at different phases activities like fishing, camping, jazz music, politics, entertaining fellow professors and students, Fredericksburg Texas, dogs, dogs, dogs, the local winery, and RV-ing around the country with Alpha.

Jerry's life spanned amazing advancements in technology. From riding a pet cow, to international travel via jet airplane, he embraced the changes. Jerry was an early adopter of the personal computer, advancing a career in journalism and mass marketing by staying a step or two ahead of the curve. Despite his affinity for technology and travel, Jerry remained firmly rooted in his humble South Dakota origins. He told his children stories about the dust bowl days, and what a treat it was to watch movies in the tiny town of Esmond. Jerry was fiercely proud of his Norwegian heritage, at one time being a member of Sons of Norway. According to Jerry, everything good in the world originated in Norway, and with the Vikings.

Memorial services will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 10:00am at the Robert Carr Chapel on the campus of Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, TX.