Jerry was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up on the Pacific Coast. He later moved to Daytona Beach, Florida. He had an uncle who was a priest, and who proved to be the spiritual influence in Jerry’s family. With his uncle’s example and through prayer, Jerry began studying for the priesthood for the Archdiocese of Portland, Oregon in his early twenties.

Jerry prayerfully took what he thought would be a short time out of formation. It turned into 28 years. He made a professional career start in sports radio in Seattle and then Portland before becoming host of the EWTN radio show, Take 2 With Jerry and Debbie.  In November 2022, the notion of priesthood came back to him very strongly. He pursued it in prayer, and it led him to being accepted as a seminarian for the Diocese of Orlando, and acceptance for formation at Pope St. John XXIII National Seminary.