Dr. Jerald L. Rounds, Ph.D., P.E. passed away February 2nd, 2024.
Born April 1st , 1942, in Denver, Colorado to Edward & Jane Dunning. He reveled in being born on April Fool’s Day.
To those near and dear to him he was Jerry. Jerry was very proud of his Denver heritage and liked to talk about his work as a Project Coordinator in the redesign of old Mile High stadium where the Bronco’s played. He was a lifetime fan of the Bronco’s and lovingly referred to them as the donkeys. He was a graduate of East High School, Denver, Colorado. He received his BS Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Colorado, pursed Master’s work at the National University of Mexico and completed is Ph. D in Civil Engineering at the University of Dundee in Scotland. He was a life long academic and teacher who loved to encourage young minds to pursue their dreams and hopefully join the construction or electrical fields. His career included professorships at Colorado State University, Iowa State University and Arizona State University. He was a Co-Consulting Editor, McGraw-Hill Construction Engineering Series of Texts which led to the publishment of three books. He recently was able to spend time in Denver with several of his grandchildren and share with them his love of Denver. City Park held special memories for him. His Great Uncle Richard Philips was an architect who was involved in the planning of it. The Cherry Creek area held a lot of great memories for him as it was home to him when growing up. He was so happy to be able to spend time and share memories with them. Jerry joined our family on November 27th, 1987, when he married the love of his life, Beverly Burnett at their home in Phoenix Az. He quickly became a father figure to sons Scott Burnett (Alicia) of Cedar Rapids, IA and Jeff Burnett (Tasha) of Goodyear AZ. As our families grew through the years, he relished his role as Grandpa Jerry to Scott’s children Sasha and Travis and Jeff’s children Courtney, Casady and Connor. He loved being a part of their lives, watching them grow through sports and academic achievements was a source of great pride and joy for him and he was at every game and event that he could be at. Jerry and Beverly traveled extensively throughout the country for his work and for vacations along with trips to Europe, Mexico and Canada but their favorite place for vacations was to Hawaii. It was a special place for them, and they shared their love of it on a trip of a lifetime with the whole family to the island of Kaui in 2003. There were so many family trips and holidays together and Jerry brought such a sense of love and devotion to Beverly and the whole family it made every one of them more special and the memories to be cherished as we remember him. He was a man of deep faith, and he lived that in every aspect of his life, supporting Beverly in her professional success and caring for her when her health declined until her passing in 2022. Jerry’s professional career can only be exceeded by the love he showed us all in the time we had with him. The tears of sorrow we shed in his passing are mixed with tears of joy in getting to know him and having him as a member of our family. He was truly a great man, and he will be forever in our hearts. Preceding him in death are his parents Emily J. Rounds and Edwin R. Rounds. His beloved wife Beverly passed away in November 2022
