Gerald “Jerry” Lloyd Allison passed away peacefully on August 17, 2022, at the age of eighty four in Atlanta, Georgia his home since 1967. His battle with medical issues in recent years showed his courage and determination in facing life challenges with optimism and strength. Jerry is the son of Marjorie and Lloyd Allison and was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota on February 12, 1938.
As a young boy in LaGrange, Illinois, Jerry’s incredible work ethic came through early when he started delivering papers at twelve, by fifteen he was managing a team of delivery boys, and by eighteen he had multiple truck routes under his management.
Jerry met his wife Carolyn while at Northern Illinois University, and they were happily married for 58 years. He is survived by Carolyn, his son Brad, his daughter-in-law Julie, and his twin grandson’s, Will and Cole, who he absolutely adored. He achieved his goal of seeing them graduate high school and go on to college.
Jerry’s professional life is inspiring and fully represents his zest for life and willingness to take risks. After college, he accepted a position in San Juan, Puerto Rico with Sealand leveraging the Spanish he learned while living in Peru and Mexico. After Sealand, he joined Goldkist Poultry as their Export Manager in Atlanta.
Seeing an opportunity in using refrigerated containers to export poultry, he was an industry pioneer in global food exports, and founded AJC International in 1972 with Eric Joiner his lifelong business partner. AJC Group has grown to be a $2 billion enterprise and is celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year and will honor Jerry and Eric throughout its celebrations.
Jerry was an avid learner and chose to invest his time in helping young people launch careers in international business. He was a Founding Director of Summit National Bank and served on their Board for 17 years. He supported AIESEC, an international student organization since 1961, serving on their Board of Directors for 14 years and was admitted to the Alumni Hall of Fame in 2003. He was inducted into the Georgia State Hall of Fame in 2012.
A full obituary as well as a link to donate in honor of Jerry to AJC Cares global partnership with Feed the Children can be found here.
