JOHN GERARD ULRICH
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Wendy' Brother
John Gerard (Gerry) Ulrich, Wendy's brother,
passed away in his sleep 20 April 2003, Easter Sunday.
Wendy remembers happy days riding bow waves in his outboard
boat on Great South Bay a part of Long Island, New York
where he and she were born in Massapequa. She was inspired
to go to sea when she watched him cast off from King's Point
merchant marine academy for his first of many voyages around
the world as an officer on merchant ships. His slide shows
and VCR tapes of trips he and his wife, Marianne, made to many
foreign countries show a man who lived a full life.
TO GERRY WHO LOVED THE SEA
Here's to a man who never again
when the seas he loved roll deep
Brace himself on the bridge of his ship
or swing in a hammock to sleep
Here's to the stars he sighted
that turn in the heavens above
And here's to the charts he marked
to steer the ships that he loved
Here's to his winter Atlantic
cold seas awash on the deck
And here's to the Suez Canal
the load in the hold to check
Here's to his Indian ocean
with Ceylon just over the bow
And on through the Straits of Malacca
Singapore, Hong Kong, Macau
Here's to the seven seas he sailed
the oceans he loved the best
And here's to the storms he weathered
ere he gave up the helm to rest
Here's to the stars that still turn
a clock in the timeless sky
Here's to the spirit that sailed
to its harbor in heaven on high