Jerry was born on March 16, 1964 in Sidney, Montana, to Gherald and Bethel (Williams) Nay of Fairview, Montana. Jerry grew up and attended school in Fairview. He always had a passion for driving trucks. As he got older, that passion only grew. As a teenager, he got to go with family friend James “Porky” Mohs in his semi, learning everything about truck driving. Jerry would go on to cherish those memories. After high school, Jerry worked numerous jobs including helping Bruce Seader with water and sewer lines around town. He also helped seismograph with his older brother Randy. This took them to many different states. In his travels, he met a lot of new people, many of which he was still friends with.

In the early morning hours of September 3, 1995, at the insistence of his cousin, he met and fell in love with Jessica Bakken. Even at 2:00 AM, they both knew that they were meant to be each other’s forever. On Christmas Eve of 1996 he proposed, and of course, she said yes! There was no rush for either of them, so planning took a backseat.

In 1999, Jerry’s dream came true. He was a fully licensed truck driver. He went to work for Real Trucking in Sidney, MT. In 2001, they welcomed their first daughter Stephanie. Jerry always wanted to be a dad. On July 6, 2002, Jerry and Jessie were united in marriage, and in 2004 they made their family complete with the birth of their second daughter Shauna. Jerry was so proud of his girls and wanted to teach them everything he could. As they grew, they followed him everywhere. Dad could always make everything an adventure!

Jerry went to work for Norby Trucking after retiring from Real Trucking in 2016. On January 8, 2020, he noticed some swelling in his legs that wouldn’t go down. After deciding to have the swelling checked out, it was discovered he was in congestive heart failure. Despite the diagnosis, Jerry continued to work. Jerry worked 2 seasons of beet harvest for Transystems before stepping away from truck driving in December of 2022.

Jerry tried so hard to get his health under control. Over the next 2 years the swelling got so bad, it became painful every day. On New Year’s Day, after fighting what he thought was the flu, Jerry went to bed, thinking if he wasn’t better in the morning he would go get checked out. In the early morning hours of January 2, 2025, Jerry peacefully passed away in his sleep. Jessie lost the love of her life, and the girls lost their dad.
Jerry, you were loved more than you ever know.

Jerry will be dearly missed by his wife Jessica, of Fairview, MT daughters; Stephanie and Shauna, of Missoula Mt, sister; Rose Hayden, of Billings, MT, brother; Randy (Noreen) Nay, of Fairview, MT, sister-in-law; Becky Nay, of Worden Mt, and Roxanne Bakken, of Sidney, MT, along with numerous family members and friends.

He was proceeded in death by his parents, both sets of grandparents, and mother-in-law; Marilyn Bakken. On June 15, 2025, his youngest brother Roger lost his battle with cancer.

Nothing will ever fill the void of losing Jerry and Roger.