Jerry Wood Carney, 97, went to be with his heavenly Father on March 3, 2026.

He was born in Charleston, WV, on April 8, 1928, to Thaddeus T. Carney and Phyllis Wood Carney.  Growing up on the West Side of Charleston, he attended Tiskelwah Elementary School (he would still sing the school song well into his nineties), Woodrow Wilson Jr. High, and Stonewall Jackson High School.

He enlisted in the Navy at the end of WWII, where he trained as a pharmacist's mate and served on the USS J Douglas Blackwood. After his discharge from the Navy, Jerry used the GI Bill created and signed by his favorite president, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, to attend Marshall College and West Virginia University. He graduated WVU with a degree in pharmacy.

After graduation, he married his sweetheart Betty Lou Hickman in 1953 and they settled in Dunbar, WV. Jerry was a pharmacist for more than forty years throughout the Kanawha Valley. Proud to be called "Doc" by customers of his beloved Cohen Drug in Dunbar, Jerry was also popular with customers at Rite Aid in Cross Lanes and Super-X in St. Albans. After ten years at CAMC Memorial inpatient pharmacy, he finally came home to the West Side of Charleston where he finished his career at Big Bear Pharmacy on Patrick Street.

Jerry was a Gideon and very active in Dunbar First Church United Methodist where he was a Sunday School Superintendent and an usher for many years. He was a member of the Dunbar Coin Club and Kanawha Valley Coin Club, participating in many coin shows throughout the area. An avid sports fan, he enjoyed cheering for both WVU and Marshall as well as the St. Louis Cardinals and Los Angeles Lakers (thank you, Jerry West). He enjoyed running and walking, running the Charleston Distance Run in 1984, the Dunbar Wine Cellar Classic several times, and the Oak Island Lighthouse Run (where he won the Most Seasoned award more than once). In 1998, Betty and Jerry built a vacation home on Oak Island, North Carolina where they enjoyed spending time on the beach, walking, and collecting seashells.

Betty and Jerry adored their grandchildren, Ryan and Jillian; they babysat Ryan when he was young. Jerry loved music (calling himself the Music Man) and singing. One of his grandchildren's favorite memories was when they tried to trick Pawpaw on one of his favorite songs, "Swing Low Sweet Chariot". Jillian filmed while Ryan, accompanying him on the keyboard, steadily increased the tempo until it was double-time; undeterred, Jerry kept singing at the normal tempo. Pawpaw 1 – Grandchildren 0.

Betty and Jerry were married 65 years before her passing in 2018. Jerry is survived by his daughter, Lisa Carney of Dunbar who took wonderful care of him when he was at home; son, Lance Carney (Kathy) Scott Depot; grandchildren, Ryan Carney (Nicole) of Burke, Virginia, and Jillian Howell (Jacob) Van Nuys, California; and two great-grandchildren, Logan and Elise.

Jerry spent the last five years at Braley Care Home in Hurricane. Chris Braley and his staff provided wonderful care for Jerry and the family cannot thank them enough. The staff loved it when Jerry serenaded them with armed forces songs and Popeye the Sailor Man ("Toot! Toot!")

Funeral services will be held at 1 p.m. on March 17, 2026, at Keller Funeral Home, Dunbar with the Rev. John Mason officiating. Interment will follow in Grandview Memorial Park, Dunbar.

Family will welcome visitors one hour prior to the service at Keller Funeral Home, Dunbar.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations in Jerry's name to Dunbar United Methodist Endowment Fund, 1401 Myers Avenue, Dunbar, WV 25064.