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City manager remembered as a man of integrity, vision
By ANNE LINDBERG, Times Staff Writer
PINELLAS PARK -- When Jerry Mudd grew up in poverty-ridden West Virginia, he had two choices: Work in the coal mines or work for the coal mines. He chose the second, becoming an engineer and designing mining equipment. Later, he moved to Florida to escape the cold weather. Humble beginnings, yet the powerful came with regular folks Sunday and Monday to honor the city manager in his death. Mudd, 56, died last week of a self-inflicted stab wound. On Sunday in City Hall, legislators, city staff members and neighbors paid their respects. The next day, the Rev. Ralph Argentino officiated a funeral Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. About 600 attended to hear Argentino remember a man who was a "faithful husband, loving father, loving son, the devout Catholic and the public servant." "He was a somewhat shy, rather private person," Argentino said. "If he ever went off on one of his history lessons, you were in for the long haul." The priest referred to Mudd's suicide. "As news of Jerry's death spread, we all felt a weird numbness," he said. "Few of us have ever faced an inner bleakness so profound that it touches the inner core of our being." But people should not despair because Mudd took his own life, Argentino said. "He only saw a smiling Jesus with arms opened wide," he said. "Temper our grief and our sorrow with the hope of eternal life." Also eulogizing Mudd were Pinellas Park Mayor Bill Mischler and Mudd's son, John. "His integrity was impeccable," Mischler said. "He was a true statesman. ... This was a man of vision." John Mudd's voice trembled as he spoke of his father, who was a best friend, guide and confidant. "For most of this week, I have been trying to convince myself my father was on an island somewhere with Kurt Cobain, Elvis Presley and John Kennedy," he said. Then he saw his father in his casket, and that brought the reality of his loss home, he said. John Mudd read a poem, A Profile in Love and Courage, that he wrote in his father's memory. "His touch was like Midas', but he was modest, never acting like a king," John Mudd said. "He was warm and kind, having compassion for everyone, reminding all that they could do great things. ... His memory, spirit and good works will always be with us." Argentino asked: "What should we do about Jerry's death? ... What are we going to do about his unfinished masterpiece? ... Can we build on his unrealized dreams?" The answer to those questions, the priest said, is to continue what Mudd started and to live "a life that makes beautiful music for Jerry and the Lord himself." Mudd will be buried at Blue Ridge Memorial Gardens in Charleston, W.Va., where his father is buried. Donations can be sent to the Public Service Education Foundation, c/o Pinellas Park City Hall, 5141 78th Ave. N, Pinellas Park, FL 33781.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • St. Petersburg Times
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From the Times South Pinellas desks |
