Walter Jerry Vance, affectionately known as "Jer", peacefully went home to be with the Lord on early Saturday morning, June 21, 2025. He was the sixth child born to Roosevelt and Elvira Vance on March 16, 1949.

Jerry was an outgoing child, taking on a leadership role in his Southwest Community on 11th St. He told all the kids what they could and could not do. His vivid imagination knew no bounds. Christmas continued past December, roller coaster rides were built before there was such a thing, and school was more fun in the old shack by the backyard alley.

Jerry attended Jerusalem Baptist Church and was baptized by the late Dr. W. N. Hunter on March 14, 1965. We know this date because he kept his baptismal certificate all these years. He also loved attending the little Holiness Church in the neighborhood where the people shouted, sang loudly, and got filled with the Holy Ghost.

He graduated from Jefferson High School in 1968. Jerry furthered his education at Burrell Memorial Hospital School of Practical Nursing. He graduated in 1975 as president of his class. In addition to being an LPN, Jerry was an accomplished pianist. He played for Jerusalem Baptist Church on occasion and served at Ebenezer A.M.E. for over 15 years. He was the Minister of Music, directing the Senior Choir, Gospel Choir, and Male Chorus.

Jerry was well known around the community for his quick wit and candid personality. Always in these interchanges, he imparted words of wisdom and honest reflections. He usually left those he encountered either laughing or bewildered, but never bored. Just ask his siblings if in doubt.

Jerry was preceded in death by his parents, and stepfather, Herbert S. Wade; his brothers, William, Billy, Leon, and Norman Vance; stepbrother, Donald Wade; and sister, Sherby Witcher.

Those who will miss him terribly and cherish his memory are his sisters, Evelyn Williams (Isaac), of Murietta, CA, Lucille Hancock (Harold), of Roanoke, VA; his brothers, Donald Wade, Raymond Wade (Patricia), and Arrington Bolden of Roanoke, VA, his dear friend Theresia Waller, and a host of nieces, nephews, family and friends.

A Celebration of Life will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 11 a.m. at the L.H. Hamlar Event Center (4516 Melrose Ave NW, Roanoke, VA 24017) with Dr. Ronald L. Marsh officiating.