JERRY W. BRANCH

Jerry W. Branch, 56, Valley Falls, died Wednesday, December 20, 2006, at his home after a brief illness.
Jerry worked in the shipping and receiving department of the Alamo Group in Holton until the plant closed earlier this year. He had recently worked at Holton Lumber.
He was born Oct. 29, 1950, at Independence, MO, the son of David Abner and Mary Helen Phillips Branch. He graduated from Van Horn High School in Independence, MO.
He married Cathy Lassiter Jepson on Dec. 9, 1989, at Valley Falls.
He was preceded in death by his parents and a sister, Peggy Joe Pinto.
Survivors include three daughters, Jackie Asher, and her husband, Will, Oskaloosa, Carly Branch, McLouth, and Whitney Gartner, and her husband, Bill, Leavenworth; two stepsons, Shawn Jepson, and his wife Shylo, and Chad Jepson and his wife, April, all of Valley Falls; two brothers, David Lee Branch and Philip Branch, both of Sugar Creek, MO, and five grandchildren, Destinii Jepson, Chad Asher, Gabriel Jepson, Dakota Gardner and Layla Jepson.
A funeral service will be at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 23, 2006, at Mercer Funeral Home in Valley Falls. The casket will be closed. Cremation will follow the service and inurnment will be at the Valley Falls Cemetery at a later date.
Memorial contributions may be made to the Jefferson County Hospice and sent in care of Mercer Funeral Home, 810 Broadway, Valley Falls, KS 66088. Online condolences are available at www.mercerfuneralhomes.com