Remembering Jerry Persha: A Legacy of Astronomical Achievement and Entrepreneurship

Gerald Persha, 1948-2025

I have had many pleasant and informative conversations with Jerry Persha over decades, and worked closely with him during the years when he was Treasurer of GRAAA. As President during most of his tenure, (2007-2016) I came to appreciate a colleague who left nothing related to the organization’s fiscal matters unattended to--nothing! He was unfailingly cordial and collegial to work with. With many others, I developed great respect for a quiet, thoughtful, pleasantly quirky, and dedicated leader who chose his words skillfully.

Jerry was first and foremost a true amateur astronomer, an “observer” of the first order. He took a serious interest in probing the night sky, not so much to enjoy the esthetics (he often pooh-pooed "looking at faint fuzzies") but for information that had potential scientific value. He was a longtime contributor of electronic data to the American Association of Variable Star Observers.

GRAAA friend Joe McBride fondly recalls an occasion when he coaxed Jerry, who famously said it was "bad for the brain to look directly at photons coming from outside the earth’s atmosphere," to peer through an eyepiece. Joe relates that he was visually observing Venus in daylight in June 2012 as it neared inferior conjunction, taking care to cleverly shield the telescope from the nearby sun. He convinced Jerry that it was easy to see and to come over for a look.

"He was in my backyard in about a half hour, looked at my set up, put his eye carefully up to the eyepiece... and then backed away, looked at the sky, put his head back to the eyepiece and carefully looked again, and after a few seconds exclaimed 'You do have it in there! That is amazing! Venus is as thin as a piece of paper.' He stayed for a bit for a beer and conversation. Then he said, dryly and jokingly, that he was starting to get a headache and had to go home. [The headache] was from looking at all the raw photons through a telescope."

So many besides Joe have offered kind words and warm reflections about Jerry since September 4th that it is difficult to bring it all into a cohesive focus. There is so much more to tell than can be covered here, and for that, consult the excellent obituary that longtime friend Aubrey Marron has assembled for M-live.

As years passed (and particularly upon his unexpected passing) Joe, many others, and myself have come to realize just how influential his body of work was--and how totally dedicated he was to it.

There was also Gerald Persha, the generous man, entrepreneur, and innovator, who went beyond what is typical for an amateur astronomer. Even as a teenager, his creative mind was coming up with electro-mechanical instruments, including a unique Tri-Schiefspiegler telescope. Longtime friend from as far back as high school, Gary Ross, relates that one of Jerry’s first enterprises was to "finish a botched 6-inch plate glass telescope mirror" that Gary was trying to grind. He came to admire his friend’s strong motivation.

Recalling another incident: "In the summer of 1964, about three months after we met, Jerry spent the night at our Oak Park house. A telescope was deployed in the back yard. We went out in the wee hours so I could make an astro-photograph. [Jerry] said it was an opportunity to learn a thing or two about the art. So typical of his drive for self-improvement." Gary goes on to note: "A mere fifteen years later, Jerry was developing Optec gear to bring late class stars within reach of amateur photometry."

Jerry began his college career at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, later transferring to Michigan’s Oakland University, where he earned a degree in physics. While at Oakland in the early 70s, the young entrepreneur became physics department manager and lobbied for establishment of an observatory.

He was also showing promise as an innovative engineer, beginning a fledgling business by building telescope drive correctors and other accessories, first in his parents' basement and later in rented space in Royal Oak. It was during this period that Jerry also became a principal in a "gang" of really creative and eventually legendary amateur astronomers known as the "Detroit Observational and Astro-Photographic Association." The group included future GRAAA leaders Persha and Ross, as well as friends Mark Christensen, Raymond Rea, and others who would also go on to success in astronomy pursuits.

Roger Civic, Gary Morin, Jerry Persha, and Larry Kalinowski

I first encountered this eclectic group of young men when they came over to GRAAA sometime in the mid-70s to present an impressive audio-visual presentation (striking slides of their astro-photos in a carousel projector, synced to a tape recording of classical music in those days) for a monthly meeting. I recall that it left quite an impression, prompting GRAAA leadership of the time to invite them back several times for encores. I was struck by the creativity of the narration (Ross) and how the mood of the music so appropriately fit the pictures appearing with it (Persha). I learned that Jerry and I shared common interests in music and sound reproduction, fostering many interesting conversations over the years that followed.

Apparently, Jerry formed a positive impression of GRAAA and the West Michigan astronomical scene, because in 1978 he moved with his fledgling business to Lowell, where a year later it became Optec Inc. So began a long and significant period in which Gerald Persha and associates would make significant and lasting contributions to pursuits of both professional and amateur astronomers worldwide.

Realizing that starlight could be measured precisely using solid state electronics, Jerry developed a photometer practical for both professional and amateur applications because it was battery operated and self-contained. He collaborated with and mentored college student GRAAA member Bill Sanders, who himself went on to a distinguished professional career as an academic at the Universities of Arizona and Illinois, and most recently Carnegie Mellon University. More sophisticated versions of this vital measuring device followed.

As research technology evolved toward digital imaging and robotic telescopes during the 1990s and early 2000s, Optec remained on the cutting edge of innovation, with infrared photometers and precision accessories. Jerry invented and patented the first temperature compensating telescope focuser. That device and his Intelligent Filter Wheel are in use today at observatories worldwide.

Jerry's photometry work evolved into the realm of meteorology, where he developed an entirely new line of instruments to measure atmospheric visibility, including those now in use at the Grand Canyon. There are so many other examples that could be cited in which technological innovation originating from a modest building in Lowell, Michigan has contributed to technological advancements in service of science worldwide.

Nearing retirement, Jerry sold Optec to longtime associate Jeff Dickerman, continuing to participate in the business part-time while returning to his core passion: gathering observational data with a telescope in an observatory attached to his home a few miles from Lowell. He became good friends with his eventual successor as Treasurer, Jim Foerch, who joined GRAAA when Jerry was at his zenith, eventually moving to Lowell Township not far from his mentor.

Jim recalls how helpful the Lowell businessman was to the then-fledgling amateur astronomer. "Jerry showed me how to design optics for a telescope and then made his shop available to build it. Our birthdays were two days apart so we had several riotous celebrations with friends. He was very serious about single channel photometry, but he also liked to have fun and goof around."

Jim and I, and a number of current and former Association members, recall the wonderful New Year’s Eve parties Jerry hosted for years. "We all brought fancy hors d'oerves and canapes to fortify ourselves for the annual eight ball tournament," Jim notes.

Jerry was an influential contributor to the GRAAA over many years, not just as longtime Treasurer and Board Member, but through donation of useful accessory equipment for Veen telescopes. He was a strong advocate for the Borr Telescope upgrade that came in 2000, designing and installing the pier required to accommodate the new instrument. His obituary states: "Jerry was always willing to help anyone in the group with a custom adaptor or telescope repair, and to share his vast knowledge."

Jerry (second from right) oversees installation of the mount for an updated version of the Jeffrey Borr Memorial Telescope in the west dome of Veen Observatory.

I among many consider Jerry’s most lasting legacy on behalf of GRAAA to be an insistence that the group establish an endowment fund, allotting a percentage of incoming revenue to investments that would grow over time, and then provide a reliable revenue stream to both maintain and enhance the fiscal stability of the Association. That certainly has happened, and it places us in an enviable position among astronomy clubs nationwide. It is one of the factors making possible the impressive upgrades that have come to Kissing Rock Hill in recent years.

A few years after retirement, Jerry decided he needed more clear nights and better seeing to enhance his passion for serious observing. He moved to a mountain foothill in southern New Mexico near Alamogordo in 2017. It did not take him long to build two observatories, one for photometry and the second for spectroscopy with instruments of his design and fashioning.

Jerry traveled to Nebraska from New Mexico in 2017 to join the GRAAA expedition to see the total solar eclipse. Left to right in this photo from the eclipse ground: Joe McBride, Dave DeBruyn, David Staskiewicz, Jerry Persha, Andy Harwood.

GRAAA President Chris Miller recalls memories from when he joined Jerry on the GRAAA Board in 2016 to a recent New Mexico visit prior to the 2024 total solar eclipse: "I fondly remember my first visit to his spacious home in Lowell for one of those Sunday breakfasts for friends. He introduced me to his mother, Rita (in her 90s), who like Jerry had an open, positive, and dynamic personality. He gave me a detailed tour of his custom observatory, equipment, and science results. That was an inspiration for me that has not faded."

During that 2024 visit, Chris experienced firsthand Jerry’s commitment to astronomical observation and recalls his generous sharing of his facilities and expertise with other like-minded hobbyists who had gravitated to that mountain ridge.

"He had expanded his expertise of variable stars into spectroscopy with an instrument he designed and built. The new work required perhaps four times the effort to process, but that just reflected how much more engaging he found it," Chris recalls. "He was living his dream. I am grateful to have known him and mourn his loss."

Preceding the diagnosis of his illness this past summer, and then his untimely death in September, Jerry’s final project involved Wolf-Rayet stars for the American Association of Variable Star Observers (AAVSO). In a period covering 2023 and 2024, Jerry submitted over 29,000 variable star observations to AAVSO, far more than any other observer that year.

During our phone conversations in recent years, Jerry more than once invited me to come out and see for myself what life as an astronomical retiree is all about on a dark arid perch overlooking the White Sands, and to meet some of those eclectic new colleagues. I intended to do that, but now I sadly realize that when it comes to things a person really wants to do, it is best not to procrastinate.