Jerry Lee Ketchum, 63, of Whitewater, ended his last ride on Feb. 22, 2019 in Milwaukee after a dauntless battle with cancer.
He was born on October 5, 1955 in Lansing, MI, to Kenneth and Shirley (Smith) Ketchum. His life journey began in Michigan, next came Alaska growing up, graduating high school and joining the Navy. Coming back to Anchorage to work on the Alaska Pipeline, be a bartender, meet the love of his life, Debbie (Troute), having a son and becoming a sheet metal worker (HVAC) which led him to Wisconsin in 1986. Bad knees meant a career change, so Harley-Davidson it was. After schooling in Arizona, and a short internship in California, it was back to Wisconsin where he spent the next 25 years working for Hal’s Harley-Davidson as a mechanic and later the Harley-Davidson corporation as a design engineer and for a short time his own shop, Hometown Motorcycle Services in Elkhorn. His most recent accomplishment was a CNC Programmer degree he obtained while working for Bradshaw Medical, Inc.
He is survived by Debbie; his father; his son, Shon [Meghan (Liam and on the way James)] and grandson John; his daughter, Tiffany Collins (Lily Collins); sister, Terry Powers [Ken (Cody and Ashley)]; brothers, Barry (Tracie and Casey) and Larry [Pam (Adrienne and Jared)] and a host of aunts, uncles and cousins. His passions were family, an avid member of the Harley-Davidson motorcycle world as a mechanic and rider, blues/rock and roll music, hunting, and fishing.
Friends and family can pay their respects at the celebration of life on Saturday, April 6th from 2 to 6 p.m. at the Silver Lake Inn, W5534 County Rd. A, Elkhorn.
