Deceased May 8, 2002
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In Memory
Gerald J. Van Dyk, known as “Jerry,” died May 8, 2002, in his office in Chicago, Ill., of an apparent heart attack. Jerry was born in The Hague, The Netherlands, where his father headed a post-WWII government ministry. At 4 years old, he moved to the United States (Oswego, N.Y.) with his family. There, he started kindergarten, with no prior knowledge of English. He learned the language quickly, and excelled, graduating from high school in three years and was named a National Merit Scholar. During grammar school, Jerry began his lifelong love of the violin and learned to play chess. In high school, he competed in weekly chess tournaments, winning numerous trophies and state honors.
At the age of 16, Jerry came to Amherst as a transferee in his sophomore year from Oswego State University. In his first year he roomed in the social dorms with Charles Gilbert, Stan Pearson and Joel Mandelbaum. While at Amherst he was a member of the cross-country and the track teams. As a junior he joined Chi Phi and became very involved in AISEC (Association Internationale des Etudiants en Sciences Economiques et Commerciales), the world’s largest student exchange group. His active participation in AISEC and strong language skills led to his spending the summer between his junior and senior years at an intern position in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, with the largest Dutch shipping company.
At Amherst Jerry was an honors student in mathematics. After Amherst, he continued his mathematics at the Univ. of Rochester where he roomed with another member of the Class of 1971, William Kendall. Bill remembers Jerry as an urbane listener, masking a devilish sense of humor behind a stolid, unassuming Dutch demeanor, working hard at his studies but also enjoying running and biking throughout the Rochester area.
With a master’s degree in mathematics, Jerry moved to Chicago to take a job with A.C. Nielsen while pursuing a graduate business degree at the Univ. of Chicago during the evening. After earning his M.B.A., Jerry launched a successful software consulting business and later joined Blue Cross/Blue Shield, where he worked as a consultant and employee for more than 20 years.
Jerry met his wife Margaret in 1980, marrying in 1981. After living in Chicago for a year, they moved to a northern suburb of Chicago (Evanston) and raised four children. Jerry loved exploration. He spent many vacations exploring the California desert and Sequoias National Park with his wife and children. He and his family also traveled extensively throughout the upper Midwest. His many hobbies included collecting fossils and rocks, hiking, collecting coins and stamps, swimming and rollerblading. He was an avid reader and loved to recount stories of his Boy Scout trips, punctuating the accounts with his deep, hearty, warm laugh.
To his wife Margaret and his four children, Daniel, Alyssa, Gerald Edward and Mark, the Class of ’71 extends its profound sympathy.
Willard C. McNitt ’71
It has been 17 years since the untimely death of Gerald Van Dyk. His widow Margaret wrote to remember Gerry, who came to Amherst when he was only 16. Although feeling isolated at first, he befriended Bill McNitt and others. After Amherst, Gerry moved to Chicago where he earned an MBA from the University of Chicago. He founded a consulting business and worked in that capacity at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois. Gerald was an accomplished violinist, an avid reader and had a great passion for hiking and traveling to such places as Machu Picchu. He and Margaret, now a Chicago area physician, married in 1981. Their four children, three boys and one daughter, are now young adults and are doing well.